The Cat Chronicles
by Pigwidgeon1706
Summary: Perhaps Lily should have known that her 7th year would not be quite as eventless as she'd anticipated after a certain drunken individual showed up on her doorstep. With her sister's wedding, new kitten and unexpected company as well as the ever lurking issues between specific Gryffindors, her school year certainly promised to be exciting even if she didn't realise it.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Welcome to my new Jily! I'm currently also writing _The Adventures of Andromeda Black_ so check that out as well if you want! Or check out my other Jily _Hit and Miss_! I'm planning on posting a chapter of this every Sunday so hopefully I'll see you for all of them! **

**Disclaimer: I own the storyline and nothing else (that goes for all my chapters).**

 **Enjoy :)**

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 **Chapter 1: An Unexpected Guest**

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When an older sibling gets married it is the opinion of their parents that the younger sibling will be lonely and thus Lily Evans received a kitten on the first day of the summer holidays. The kitten, named Nigel, was a ginger tabby that could have been classed as slightly idiotic. It had so far run into its reflection 21 times and currently was attempting to communicate with its mirror image through a series of pathetic mews. The early morning sun streamed into room and tickled the face of the redhead sleeping in the bed diagonally opposite the mirror. Lily stirred and stretched before chuckling at the sight of Nigel, who was now tapping one of his minute paws against the looking glass. She slipped out from under her covers and shuffled out of her room and across the landing into a light blue tiled bathroom. The sound of water splashing out of the showerhead filled the room and Lily closed her eyes contently as the warm water rained over her. The last few hours before chaos ensued.

Lily's sister, Petunia, was to be married that afternoon to Vernon Dursley and preparations in the Evans household would shortly be resuming. The various aunts, uncles and cousins who would be helping were only a few hours away and soon everyone's efforts would be consumed by wedding preparation. The Bride was still enjoying her beauty sleep so Lily took her time shampooing and conditioning her deep red hair. She didn't take long and stepped out of the shower after about 20 minutes with clean but wet hair that dripped onto the bathroom rug. Quickly, she dried herself and dressed before tying her hair up in a bun and heading downstairs. The kitchen had one occupant in it; Mr Evans sat at the kitchen table with a cup of tea and a newspaper.

'There's been another gas explosion.' Lily's father informed her as she pulled out a bowl from the cupboard. 'Down in Dorset. Load of nutters started protesting afterwards. As if anyone wanted it to happen.'

'I'm sure they meant well by it.' Lily responded and sat down opposite him with a bowl of Weetabix in front of her. She began to spoon it into her mouth as her father delved back into his newspaper.

'Strange the amount of explosions happening. I'm no expert but surely heat waves don't have that bad an effect on our gas pipes. Pretty bad installation if you ask me.'

'Perhaps this will alert the manufacturers to improve the quality of their pipes.' Lily swallowed a mouthful of cereal and Mr Evans snorted.

'That lot only care about profit.' He adjusted his newspaper in frustration. 'The day they stop thinking about how many bleeding quid they'll make is the day Vernon Dursley loses weight.'

'Dad!' Lily reprimanded though she didn't deny that her future in-law was rather on the portly side. He was quite similar to a pig in many respects; Vernon Dursley had piggy little eyes and ate in the most disgusting manner that put one off their food completely. He also grunted like a pig and was exceptionally greedy. Needless to say, he wasn't a pleasant man but the rest of the Evans household put up with him because he made Petunia happy.

'What?' Mr Evans grinned wickedly. 'I speak only the truth.'

'Yes but-'

'I'm doing exactly what the Bible says: Thou shall not lie.'

'You and I both know you couldn't care less what the Bible says.' Lily shook her head despairingly and her father laughed. 'Besides, in a few hours, Vernon'll be your in-law so you'd better be nice about him.'

'Only when Pet's around.' He ruffled his daughter's damp hair. 'Promise me you'll bring home a bloke who hasn't got his head stuck up his arse.'

'I give up.' Lily muttered and returned her attention to her breakfast. The two were silent for only a few minutes before there was a loud tapping at the window. They looked to see two owls, one tawny and the other jet black, sitting on the windowsill. One carried a newspaper and the other what appeared to be a hurriedly written note. Lily stood up and went to the window where she opened it and the two birds hopped inside the kitchen. Both seemed in a rush and Lily pulled a jar of bronze coins towards her. She fished out three which she put in the pouch of the owl with the newspaper and removed the mail. The tawny owl flew off and she turned to the black one.

 _Lily,_

 _I haven't got long but here's what's happened. Mr and Mrs Potter passed away last night from dragon pox. Sirius and James were there with them and when Peter and I heard we went straight St Mungo's. We managed to bring Sirius back to his place and we're with him now but James disapparated. He's vanished and we're really worried about him. If you see him please, please let me know._

 _Love,_

 _Remus_

Lily stared at the note for a moment before reaching for a notepad and pen. She quickly scribbled a response and attached it to the owl which took flight instantly. Returning to her breakfast, she frowned because it was highly unlikely that she would come across James Potter in her summer holidays. The two weren't in the habit of seeing each other outside of school so the likelihood of her seeing him was slim to none. Nevertheless, Remus was her friend and by the sounds of it was pretty desperate to find one of his best mates. She opened up her delivered newspaper and instantly saw that the front page of the Daily Prophet offered an alternative story to the gas explosion.

 _10 DEAD IN DORSET DEATH EATER ATTACK_

The headline could not have been any plainer and she wrinkled her nose in disgust upon reading it. However, she didn't read the article beneath it, instead folding up the newspaper and being cautious to hide the headline from her father. Rather hurriedly, she finished her breakfast and washed up her bowl before heading back to her bedroom. Once in the confines of her room, she began to search through her bedside table drawer and pulled out a red leather notebook. She grabbed a pen from her desk and wrote on the first blank page.

 _ **Lily: You ok?**_

Then she waited.

 _ **Lily: Marls?**_

Nothing. Lily reached for a book to entertain herself while she waited. The book nearest to her was in fact Much Ado About Nothing. Not a book then, a play. It was Lily's favourite Shakespeare and although the actual contents of the play had nothing to do with the events of today, she felt that the title could easily be used in regard to the preparations for Petunia's wedding. A wedding was after all the union between two people but somehow her sister, mother and two aunts had brought in the importance of colour schemes and wedding cake flavours.

 _ **Marlene: We're all fine. Can't talk – my brother's party is in two fucking hours. Save me!**_

 _ **Lily: Have fun! ;)**_

 _ **Marlene: FML.**_

She smiled at the antics of her best friend and let out a sigh of relief. Marlene McKinnon lived in Dorset and upon hearing about the attack there, Lily's heart had had a slight heart attack. Luckily, it transpired Marlene and her family were all alright.

There was a loud screech from down the corridor, causing her to jump in shock, and she poked her head out of her room to investigate. Petunia Evans stood in the hallway holding up a mirror, which completely obscured her face, and screamed.

'Tuney?' Lily asked tentatively.

'My face is covered in spots!' she wailed and Mrs Evans appeared out of a room right at the end of the corridor looking extremely bleary-eyed. 'My wedding day's ruined!' Petunia began to cry and her mother rushed to engulf her in a hug. Lily stood awkwardly in her doorway.

'We'll just put some ice on them and they'll shrink a bit.' Mrs Evans tried to reassure her eldest daughter. This didn't seem to help.

'B-but they'll still be there. Ugly and painful!' Petunia howled and Mrs Evans began to usher her into her room. Lily returned to her own and once again headed to her bedside table. This time she did not rummage through the drawer but picked up a piece of wood next to her alarm clock. She had picked up her wand. Cautiously, she made her way to where the other two Evans women were and cleared her throat.

'Tuney?' she mumbled and the two turned to face her. 'I know you don't like m-magic but I-I could vanish your spots.' There was a silence as Petunia mulled over her sister's words. Lily could practically see the cogs working in Petunia's head. Lily was a witch and could do magic – a fact Petunia greatly disliked. Agreeing to have her spots vanished would be allowing her sister to do magic but saying no would result in blemished skin for her wedding.

'Fine. But you'd better not mess it up, Freak.' The nickname Petunia gave her sister was whispered so that their mother wouldn't hear. Lily moved towards her older sister and let her wand tip rest on all of the pimples in turn. One by one they vanished and after five minutes they were all gone. The doorbell rang. 'Put that thing away!' Petunia hissed and Lily rushed to hide her wand in her room. When she returned to the landing, she could hear her father letting in a flurry of cousins, aunts and uncles.

A few minutes later, and Lily was downstairs helping her Aunt Harriet put on the finishing touches of the wedding cake. The kitchen counter they were working on was littered with cake decorations and piping bags. The two females worked carefully and slowly on their masterpiece but when one of the cousins came in to get a glass of water, the peace broke and Aunt Harriet yelled at them to get out. With the wedding topper added, Lily was then sent for a last-minute trip to the florist. Petunia had decided that the bridesmaids would be wearing white flower crowns so Lily ran down the street to fetch as many white flowers as she could carry. When she returned, she was grabbed by her cousin Olivia and forced to have her hair braided and placed into a low bun. Once her hair was done, the applying of makeup began and after that chaotic process ended, Lily was required to attend to her younger cousins' hair and makeup. The two little girls, Katie and Juliet (aged 7 and 9), sat obediently enough as their elder cousin rushed around curling their locks and pondering whether small children were allowed mascara and lipstick.

Lily stepped back to admire her handiwork before she was pulled away to help adjusting the bridesmaid dresses. Vernon's sister, Marge, had put on her yellow dress and the seams down one side had all burst. It was then up to Lily to fix the problem and after she'd save Marge's outfit she was whisked away by Olivia, who had lost weight since choosing the correct size dress, and proceeded to take in the dress. A momentary breath was allowed for the redhead before her mother wanted her verdict on Petunia's hair and then decided of her own accord that perhaps she should have an elegant knot rather than a braid. Lily simply nodded and told her sister she looked lovely to which she received a glower from the Bride. The doorbell rang again and because everyone else was busy it was up to Lily to answer it. She supposed it must be the Maid of Honour with the wedding dress and hurried to reach the front door. Lily opened the door. It wasn't the wedding dress.

'Potter?' She stared at the person in the doorway. James Potter, with a bottle in hand, stood in the threshold and swayed slightly as he attempted to stay upright. He let out a loud hiccup and stumbled slightly causing Lily to grasp him so that he wouldn't fall over. 'Let's get you inside.' She bundled him into the hallway and closed the door behind them.

'Lily! Is that the dress?' her mother called from the next room. Mrs Evans entered the hall and her eyes fell upon the to two people in it. 'Who's that?' she mouthed at her daughter with a look of bemusement.

'James Potter.' Lily responded aloud. 'I'll put him in my room.' Mrs Evans nodded and left the hallway.

'Oooh! You're room?' James let out a loud giggle as Lily dragged him upstairs, pausing only to get a bucket out of the cupboard under the stairs. When they reached Lily's room, she deposited him on the bed with the bucket on his lap.

'Try and be sick in the bucket, yeah?' she suggested softly.

'Sick? I'm not-' There was a rather unpleasant splashing noise as he regurgitated into the pail. He resurfaced with an unfocused grin. 'I'm going to do a handstand.'

'Noo!' Lily cried in panic as he almost knocked the sick-filled bucket onto the floor. James fell over and stumbled a few times as he tried to stand up. His head ached slightly so he rubbed it furiously whilst trying to focus on the female before him.

'Hello, beautiful.' He tried to run his hands through his hair but missed and ended up stoking the air confusedly.

'I'll go get you some water.' Lily informed James. 'Just stay there.' She left and the intoxicated James looked around the room. His vision was quite blurry due to the amount of alcohol he'd consumed and he barely jumped when he caught sight of a ginger shape on the floor.

'Evans?' he giggled. 'You on… floor? I'm d-drunk not you. You can't fall over!' His drunken laugh lengthened as the shape moved across the floor. 'You're a s-strange bird.' There was no response to his statement and James tilted his head curiously. 'Why won't you answer me? D'you hate me?'

He leant down to the same level as the ginger shape and decided Lily must have dyed her hair lighter than its natural deep red. It took him a few attempts to pick up the shape and he held it above him.

'Have you shrunk?' he asked in amusement. James shook the shape slightly and giggled again as it wriggled in irritation. 'D'you want me to help you back to normal? I'm actually a hero in secret so you're in luck. Where's my… Got it!' He held his wand loosely in his free hand and waved it around wildly. 'Engor-'

'Potter, that's my kitten.' Lily had returned with a jug of water which she balanced on a crate of white flowers and silver wire. Carefully, she placed the box on the floor and put the jug on her bedside table. She produced a plastic cup and poured some water into it before handing it to James, who had put down both Nigel and his wand. He attempted to drink it but missed his face completely and ended up tipping water onto the bed. 'How much did you drink?'

'Only a bottle.' James let out a loud giggle. 'Or t-t-two.'

'Maybe you should sleep for a bit. Sleep off some of that alcohol.'

'I don't want to go to bed.' James complained before starting to laugh. 'Not without you!' He winked clumsily and Lily struggled to keep a straight face.

'How about we compromise? I'll tuck you up.' He didn't answer so Lily set about taking off his shoes and lying him down underneath the covers.

'I really really-' James broke off as he fell asleep and began letting out incredibly loud snores. Lily shook her head amusedly and turned to the crate she had hauled upstairs. It contained everything she needed to make the flower crowns Petunia had demanded last minute and reluctantly made a start. Making the flower crowns took an age and had resulted in several pokes from the silver wires. As she worked, she wondered if she should inform Remus that James was at hers but as she heard Petunia shouting downstairs that her dress didn't fit she decided that could wait.

As James snored on, Lily fiddled and adjusted the crowns until she had 6 identical flower wreaths. Reaching for her wand, she added a spell to make the flowers stay fresh all day. She gathered them up and poked her head out of her room. Mr Evans was strolling down the corridor and she grabbed him before pulling him into her room.

'Dad, can you keep an eye on him while I show Tuney the crowns?'

'Sure.' Mr Evans looked at the snoring boy with disapproval. 'You're mum said he's drunk.'

'His parents died last night.' Lily whispered. Her father's expression of displeasure changed instantly to one of understanding.

'Bloody hell!' He shook his head. 'Poor bloke. That is-'

'FREAK!' Lily's sister's voice echoed through the house causing them to jump in shock.

'You'd better go see what that's about.' Mr Evans frowned. 'I wish she'd stop calling you that.'

'Yeah…' Lily left and headed down the corridor to her sister's room. The flower crowns passed the examination of the insistent Bride and Lily even got a smile from her sister when she told her she looked pretty in her wedding dress. Soon the bridesmaids received their flower crowns and there was momentary calm while they all admired their finished outfits of floating yellow dresses with white stilettos and now a wreath of beautiful pure white flowers. Then there was a scream of rage as everyone realised Lily had not changed into her dress and shoes yet. Oliva, Marge, Petunia and the finally arrived Maid of Honour pushed her in the direction of her room.

'I'm back.' she said into the room and Mr Evans leapt up from the chair behind the desk at the far end of the room. James was still fast asleep. Lily's father clapped her on the shoulder and left. Looking cautiously at the sleeping male, she closed her door and stripped into her underwear. As fast as she could, Lily pulled the bridesmaid dress over her head.

'Nice bra, Evans.'

 **Please Review :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Welcome back and I hope you enjoyed the last chapter!**

 **Enjoy :)**

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 **Chapter 2: The Wedding**

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'Nice bra, Evans.' James smirked though Lily noted, as she hastily pulled her dress down, that his eyes remained cold and depressed. A flush rose in her cheeks but she was more concerned than embarrassed.

'I need to tell Remus you're here. He owled me this morning asking if I'd seen you.' Lily paused and searched the face of the now-sober James. 'I suppose… it won't hurt if I don't tell him yet.'

From the room beneath them they heard Petunia shout that the wedding cars had arrived. Lily walked over to the window and peered into the street below. There were 4 cream coloured Rolls Royce's lined up outside the house, each with a suited chauffeur, and the wedding party began piling out of the Evans' front door.

'LILY!' Mr Evans shouted from the bottom of the stairs. 'GET YOU AND YOUR MALE FRIEND DOWNSTAIRS! WE'RE LEAVING IN 10!'

'Your male friend?' James asked with the same expression. 'I take it I'm going with you.' Lily simply grabbed her wand and transfigured his casual attire into a black tuxedo. She pulled him out of her room and the two were soon bundled into one of the cars. Squished in between James and Olivia, Lily closed her eyes and leaned back into her leather seat.

'So, James, you go to Lily's school?'

'Yes.'

'And that means you're 17?'

'Yes.'

'So, we're the same age.' Olivia lifted up the skirt of her dress to reveal two perfectly fake-tanned legs. Her red-haired cousin's lips twitched at her antics whilst James fixed her with a perfect smile.

'I believe so.' he replied and ran a hand through his wild jet black hair. They fell into silence.

'We're here.' the chauffeur announced a short car journey later and Olivia hurriedly adjusted her dress though Lily observed that there was an increased amount of cleavage on display and she struggled to keep a straight face when she glanced at the unfazed expression of their male companion. The car door opened and they stepped out. The church where the service would be taking place was a large and extravagant building. It was red brick and towered over the wedding party. All in all, it was the perfect place for Petunia and Vernon to marry; somewhere that reflected exactly who they were – the perfect representation of a nuclear couple. Mr and Mrs Evans charged over to the trio.

'James, you can head in already. Girls, over to Pet.' The two bridesmaids moved over to the Bride, who was squawking out orders, and fell into line behind Marge and the Maid of Honour. As they waited for the Bride to compose herself, Lily saw her cousin staring after the male she'd been flirting with in the car. She nudged her.

'We've got a whole wedding. Don't worry.' Lily told her kindly and Olivia laughed nervously at her cousin's comment. 'And there's dancing later.'

Mrs Evans clapped her hands and Mr Evans offered his arm to his eldest daughter. They all made their way to the large door and pair by pair they entered the church. As they walked, Lily mumbled to herself over and over not to trip. She smiled absently at the guests and her eyes fell on a certain monotone bespectacled male. Her smile changed to worry for a fleeting moment. James and Lily had a strange relationship. They weren't friends but they weren't enemies; they were civil. At school, they avoided conversation and outside of school they never crossed paths. Until today, where James had randomly appeared drunk outside Lily's front door a few hours previous. Lily had no idea how James had even found her house, especially considering he'd been heavily intoxicated, but at the same time a part of her was glad he had. Although Lily had never lost her parents, obviously, she felt empathetic towards him and hoped that this wedding would distract him.

As the Bride and bridesmaids walked up the aisle, James hardly reacted and when Lily smiled in his direction his blank expression didn't change. Weddings were joyful celebrations but he couldn't remember a time he'd felt less so. When is parents had passed away, James hadn't known what to do. Sirius, his adopted brother and one of his best mates, had simply stared at the wall in front of him until Remus and Peter had arrived to keep them company. But James hadn't wanted company. He hadn't wanted the company of people who said they understood but in reality, had no idea of the emotions he was going through. So, he'd disapparated. The first place he materialised in was his own home, right in front of the drinks cabinet. In a few hours, he'd consumed two bottles of Ogden's Old Firewhisky and begun wandering drunkenly around his house. He'd entered his parents room and caught sight of himself in their large mirror. The mirror's frame was a darkish red and he'd thought of Lily's hair. Perhaps it was in that moment, that he decided he wanted company because a little while later and he'd apparated to right outside her door. James had never been to Lily's house nor had he ever known her address but when he'd apparated his destination in mind had been her.

The ceremony began and Lily glanced at the front row of seats to see her mother sniffing tearfully in her father's arms. Petunia and Vernon were focused solely on the minister and each other. She wondered if her sister had ever had doubts about marrying Vernon. She was only 19 after all and Vernon Dursley had proposed to her only 6 months into their relationship. Of course, Lily reminded herself, true love wasn't limited to relationships that had lasted longer. She mentally shook herself, cross that she'd been so unsupportive of her sister's feelings, and returned her attention to the minister.

'I will.' Vernon said with a nod and squeezed Petunia's bony hand in his ham-like one.

'And do you, Petunia Evelyn Evans, take Vernon Peter Dursley to be your husband?' The minister paused. 'Will you love him, comfort him, honour and protect him, and, forsaking all others, be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?'

'I will.'

'The rings, please.' the minister addressed Katie and Juliet, who nervously carried forward a white satin cushion. Taking the two rings on the cushion, the minister handed one of them to Vernon. The ceremony continued and Lily watched her sister and in-law declare their love for one another. Lily felt it really was beautiful that Petunia had found someone who adored her so much and vice versa. Though no tears of emotion formed in her eyes like with her mother, she smiled at the sight before her. When the two Dursleys had been married, they walked arm in arm down the aisle and the bridesmaids and groomsmen followed. The bride and groom went into a small side room as everyone else made their way outside so that confetti could be thrown. On her way back down the aisle, Lily no longer had Olivia next to her but rather a male cousin by the name of Henry (though everyone called him Harry).

'Nice couple. One a horse the other a walrus.' he said, shaking his head.

'Harry!' Lily chided as they walked. 'That is your cousin and her husband you're talking about. And I thought they looked lovely together.'

'Of course, you did.' He laughed. 'Lily, if I ever hear you say something horrible about someone I'll die of shock.'

'I've said plenty of horrible things.' she answered and avoided his gaze. 'You've just never witnessed them…' Lily mumbled as an afterthought but not loud enough for him to hear.

'Sure, sure. By the way, nice date. He looks _really_ cheerful.'

'P-James isn't my date. He's just a… friend.' Lily frowned slightly. She wasn't really sure how to describe her relationship with James but for the purposes of the wedding it would be easier to say they were friends.

'I suppose that's a good thing cos Liv looks like she's about to eat him. I would've warned you during the service but Mum would've killed me for interrupting it and Aunt Charlotte come to think of it.'

'Aunt Harriet probably would. I think Mum wouldn't have noticed – she was crying into Dad's shoulder.' The two cousins grinned at each other. 'Olivia hasn't got any competition from me if that's what you were wondering. James hasn't got a girlfriend either…'

'Sounds like Liv's good to go. Should I tell her that guys don't like being attacked by vultures?'

'Olivia's hardly a vulture but maybe we should put her off flirting with him… I reckon that's the last thing he wants right now…' Lily said guiltily.

'Ah ha! The reason for his glum face!' Henry's face lit up like a Christmas tree that had just had fairy lights added to it.

'I'm not telling you, Harry!' Lily insisted and his face deflated comically. 'The last thing he needs is everyone knowing… It was stupid of me to bring him. Selfish really. He wanted to be alone and now he's surrounded.'

'I don't think he's too fussed.' Henry said thoughtfully as they reached the outside of the church.

'And why's that?'

'You're here.' he answered simply and with a smug expression in place he strolled off to join Aunt Harriet, leaving his baffled cousin behind him. Olivia rushed over to Lily so she had little to no time to dwell of Henry's parting words.

'What was Harry saying to you?' she asked suspiciously. Henry and Olivia were brother and sister, though their appearances said otherwise. Olivia had fair hair and naturally pale skin with blue eyes whilst Henry was tanned with chestnut brown hair and dark brown eyes. Henry was also tall and Olivia extremely short. The two had the same age gap as Petunia and Lily (Henry was 19 and Olivia 17) and were almost constantly bickering with each other; only when no one was around did they get on like a house on fire. Their parents, Lily's Aunt Harriet and Uncle Matthew, were practically driven insane by their children's arguing but unbeknownst to them, this promise of insanity was most likely the reason the two siblings argued so much for it brought them great amusement.

'He was just complimenting Tuney and Vernon.' Lily lied and looked over Olivia's shoulder. She scanned the guests milling outside the church waiting for the newlyweds to emerge. They all held confetti in their hands and when the two Dursleys appeared there was practically a cloud of it thrust into the air. Olivia joined in and Lily took the opportunity to try find James. She found him quite easily, the only miserable face in a crowd of joyous ones, and hurried over to him. He caught sight of her and lifted a hand in greeting as she reached him. 'I'm sorry about this… It was selfish of me to bring you.'

'It's fine, Evans. I don't mind.' She smiled uncertainly at him. 'So, is there food at Muggle weddings or do the guests starve?'

'Of course not!' Lily laughed. 'There's a reception with dancing, speeches and eating. We're lucky Vernon likes food so much – he's organised an all you can eat buffet.' James nodded.

'Your cousin Olivia… has she ever dated anyone?' he asked as the blond stalked passed them into her parent's car; Henry had tipped confetti down back of her dress and from behind she looked slightly like a multicoloured snow beast.

'I'm not sure actually. She's pretty and really nice so probably.' Lily grinned slyly in James' direction.

'You have a high regard of people, Evans.' James informed her with a raised eyebrow. 'She's not hideous, I'll give her that, but bloody hell! She needs to learn how to be subtle.'

'Perhaps you should practice with her.' Lily suggested as she tugged him towards one of the cars that would take them to the reception. James stared at her as they took their seats but he couldn't answer because Mr and Mrs Evans were in the front.

'I _really_ love church.' Mr Evans said with an evil glance at his wife, who whacked him with her handbag.

'Just because you don't like church doesn't mean no one else does.' Mrs Evans scolded.

'Lottie, dear, we can't all be perfect like you.' Lily smiled into her lap and her mother snorted.

'So, James.' Mr Evans began and James started at being addressed. 'What job d'you want when you leave school?' Mrs Evans glanced at her husband with a sharp look whilst Lily frowned slightly.

'I want to be an Auror.' James replied a little uncertainly.

'An Auror… That's a solid career, son.' Mr Evans nodded positively. 'Er, Lily… What's an Auror?'

'Hmm?' Lily asked with a glance at her father. 'An Auror? Well, they're dark wizard catchers. Kind of like the Secret Service but not so secret.'

'Like the police then?'

'Yes… I suppose… But that's more the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.'

'So, James you want to catch dark wizards?' Mr Evans asked and everyone in the car laughed at him. James' laugh was brief but it was there and Lily felt her heart warm slightly at the sound of it. 'What?'

'We're here.' Mrs Evans said through her giggles. They had arrived outside the lavish hotel that the Dursleys had selected. It was surrounded by a green park with brightly coloured flowers in the flowerbeds. Despite the relentless temperature of the July heatwave, the grass was a luscious green and the flowers still not wilted. The building itself was a Georgian manor house with embellished pillars that had purple wisteria growing up them.

'Right, Evans's! Three cheers for spending the next few hours with the whole Dursley family!' Mr Evans cried enthusiastically. 'You too, James. Today you're part of the Evans clan!'

'Really, William?' Mrs Evans asked with amusement.

'Yes. On the count of three!' Lily glanced at James. He was smiling ever so slightly. Perhaps it was at how inclusive the Evans were of him or perhaps it was simply because three people at this wedding who knew of his parents' death allowed him to act as though everything was normal. '1…2…3…'

'Hip hip hooray!' they chanted. 'Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray!' After that morale booster, the four of them left the car and walked into the manor. The inside was richly carpeted and the walls had several paintings of exotic faraway lands with beautiful maidens and strapping young men. Highly realistic of course. They followed the carpet into a large ballroom that was filled with tableclothed tables and chairs with an area cleared for dancing. The head table was decorated with fairy lights and vases of white flowers. They were greeted by the Bride and Groom, who flashed them smiles and waved them in.

'We're free to sit where we want but I think Olivia won't be pleased if we don't sit with her and Henry. Be warned – they can bicker a bit.' Lily led James over to where her cousins sat.

'Are you saying I don't suit yellow?' Olivia demanded of her brother.

'I'm not saying anything of the sort.' Henry winked at James. 'I know you should never tell a woman she doesn't suit something.' A smirk graced his features. 'I was simply saying that you look ill.'

'I do NOT look ill!' Olivia thundered. 'Do I, James?' James started and his face fixed itself in another perfect smile.

'Of course not.' She relaxed visibly.

'Sickly.' Henry muttered and Olivia scowled.

'Mud-hair.'

'Diseased.'

'Now really, you two!' Aunt Harriet had arrived at the table with her husband. The two adults seated themselves at the table and tutted at their children. 'Why you two insist on arguing all the time is a mystery to me.'

'Can't you two act like Petunia and Lily?' Uncle Matthew asked with a sigh. 'They never say a word against each other.'

Lily jumped slightly at the sound of James coughing loudly. She thumped him on the back and although for a moment he seemed to freeze at her touch, he then continued to cough. The food began to arrive and Henry, Olivia, Lily and James headed to the buffet table. They loaded up their plates before returning to their seats to begin devouring the delicious food. Olivia attempted to consume her food with what she clearly felt was a seductive flourish. Unfortunately, the intended male of her seduction was too busy eating and noticing that Lily ate incredibly normally. In fact, he was amazed how easily she could ignore the admiring glances thrown at her by most of the young men in the room. Then again, he pondered, she might not even be aware of them to begin with; she never was.

It was far easier to watch something that made him happy because the alternative was looking away and having his mind filled with… Well, it was best not to focus on that. Lily's absentminded smile was a much better thing to think about.

Slowly but surely, the food was eaten, the wedding cake cut and the speeches spoken. Soon it was time for the dancefloor to be filled as the Bride and Groom finished their first dance as man and wife. Their parents were next on to the floor with Mr Evans accompanying Mrs Dursley and Mrs Evans dancing with Mr Dursley. Henry laughed at is aunt and uncle as they danced with two great whales of human beings. Mrs Dursley looked slightly like a mouldy lilac méringue in her formal attire and her husband wasn't any improvement in his crusty suit that clearly hadn't seen daylight in many years. More couples joined and Olivia was led off, a little reluctantly, by one of Vernon's less vile cousins. Henry left to go dance with his (and Lily's) grandmother but Lily stayed with James who, she guessed, wasn't in the mood for dancing.

'We can leave soon, if you want.' she told him. 'I don't mind. Besides, I need to ask Marlene how her brother's party went.'

'I don't mind staying.' James leaned back in his chair and looked at the red-headed female next to him. Lily sighed slightly.

'I still need to tell Remus I've found you.'

'I don't want them to find me.'

'They're only worried about you.' she reasoned. 'I'm not sure how much help I can be to you. They'll probably do a much better job. And I may not know Black very well but I bet he'd rather know where you are.'

'He's got Remus and Pete. He'll be fine.' James dismissed but looked away from her and across the room.

'And you?' she prompted. 'You need your mates, Potter, not some girl you sometimes see at school. If it was me… I'd want to be with Marlene or Remus or-'

'Yes, well it's not fucking you!' he snapped and Lily dropped her gaze to her lap, ashamed.

'Hey, you two.' Olivia was back. 'I hope you're not planning to keep James to yourself all night, Lily, because that's just selfish.'

'No…' Lily mumbled. 'O-of course not. That was selfish of me.' Although it seemed a general response, James glanced at her as though it was meant for him. Then, he plastered a smirk on his face and swaggered off with Olivia towards the dancefloor. Lily watched them go with a sad expression. People often perceived her to be pushover because she had a tendency to accept blame instantly so as to avoid arguments and didn't regularly spurt out insults about her peers. But she wasn't. Yes, Lily tried to be kind to everyone but she was not very tolerant of those insulting her friends. She was extremely independent and although most hadn't seen it, a sharp tongue when she wanted. Lily was also an exceptionally gifted witch, not that she admitted it, and come across her in a duel and you would be sorry.

The dancers returned and as Olivia went off to get a drink, Lily said she was going to get a breath of fresh air. She moved quickly through the corridors and reached the outside in little to no time. The summer so far had been an endless and unyielding heatwave but in that precise moment, Mother Nature decided to gift the cracked soil with rain. The clouds broke and droplets of water showered down onto the gravel driveway. Lily stepped out from underneath the safety of a balcony above her and allowed the water to soak her from head to toe. But she rejoiced in the rain and began to dance around in it. Her hair fell out of its bun and tumbled down her back but she didn't care. Mascara ran down her cheeks but nothing could spoil the adrenalin she felt as the rain poured out of the sky. Perhaps she looked mad, perhaps she looked a mess but inside she felt alive, as though the rain was washing her of her worries.

Unbeknownst to Lily, James had followed her outside. He watched from the doorway and wondered if the girl dancing before him would ever notice him. She was so caught up in her movements that she barely threw a glance at her surroundings. The two were alone outside as no one else was mad enough to venture into the rain.

'Evans!' James called out into the rain. Lily heard him but only just. 'You'll catch a cold like that.'

'Pardon?' Lily asked attempting to hear him over a clap of thunder. She came over to where he was standing. Beneath the shelter of a balcony and only a small distance from him, she could hear what he was saying.

'I said, you'll catch a cold like that.' he told her, shaking his head.

'But it hasn't rained in ages. I thought I might as well enjoy it today. If it keeps raining I'll get sick of it soon.' The two sat down against the wall and watched the raindrops pelt towards the ground.

'I hate rain. It's the worst weather.' James grumbled.

'It's very useful though…most of the time anyway.' Lily said fairly and reached out a hand to catch some drops in her hand.

'Still shit. Who wants to be rained on? It just makes you ill.'

'I do.' Lily answered stoutly. 'It's relaxing.' James made no verbal response and simply grunted. She looked sideways at him and say his face had fallen back into a look of sadness. There was a flash of lightning and Lily tilted her head slightly. 'The storm's 54 kilometres away.'

'How d'you know that?' James asked curiously.

'I counted the seconds between the thunder and the lightning.'

'Oh. I've never done that before.' He frowned slightly at the look of surprise on Lily's face.

'Tuney and I always counted the seconds between them when we were younger.' she began fiddling with the hem of her dress. 'We'd sit in my room by the window and watch out for lightning.' Once again, James didn't respond and the two watched the rain fall. Music from the ballroom drifted outside to where they sat and Lily hummed along.

 _Why do you build me up (build me up) buttercup, baby_

Lily swayed slightly where she sat and a smile graced her lips. As she swayed, she accidently nudged James who started slightly and began to watch her. She still had mascara down her face and her hair was soaked but he thought she looked radiant.

 _Just to let me down (let me down) and mess me around_

'D'you want to dance?' The question was out of his lips before he could stop himself.

 _And then worst of all (worst of all) you never call, baby  
When you say you will (say you will) but I love you still_

'Sure…' The two stood up and, be it a little awkwardly, began to dance. With the rain and The Foundations as their accompaniment, they lost themselves in a brief but happy moment of bliss.

 _I need you (I need you) more than anyone, darlin'  
You know that I have from the start  
So build me up (build me up) buttercup, don't break my heart_

 **Please Review :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Well, that's the wedding over and now we have the rest of the summer holidays to enjoy. I've been dying slightly this week with a delightful cold so it's been really fun. Do you have a cold right now? It's all October's fault. Oh well... I hope you like this chapter!**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Edward**

* * *

During the first week of August, Lily took the train down to the coast to see her grandmother. The Evans household had been quiet without Petunia and without James. Lily had persuaded him to go and stay with Sirius for the remainder of the holiday. He'd been extremely reluctantly and only agreed when she'd said that even if he didn't need Sirius, Sirius needed him in such a tough time.

She sat on the pavement outside the train station waiting for her grandmother to arrive. Her grandmother's car was a bright blue Mercedes and her pride and joy. It wasn't a convertible because Natasha Evans didn't trust Vinyl. She also didn't trust the newspapers, who apparently were run by the Russian Mafia; ready-made meals, which were apparently poison sent by the Russian Mafia to weaken the rest of the world; and she didn't trust her neighbours, who were apparently members of the Russian Mafia. In fact, there were very few people she didn't suspect of being members. Her two sons, their wives and two of her grandchildren (Henry and Lily) escaped such accusations but anyone else was not so lucky. Needless to say, she was extremely concerned about the Russian Mafia.

The blue Mercedes pulled up in front of Lily and she opened the door. She pushed her bag of things into the back seats and climbed in the front. Her grandmother smiled fondly at her youngest grandchild.

'Alright, Gran?' Lily smiled back as the car engine sputtered into action. She had Nigel on her lap and he began to play with his paws as they drove.

'You're growing up so fast.' she said sadly.

'I'm only 17, Gran.'

'Only 17.' Natasha Evans shook her head despairingly as the car turned a corner. 'That's the age of a young woman. I was married at 17 and your dad moved out at 18.'

'Well, I've got to find someone to propose to me and I've still got school to finish.' They pulled up outside a cobblestone cottage that sat snuggly behind a row of sand dunes and grass. Lily changed her hold on Nigel and grabbed her things before stepping out of the car. The owners of the house next door waved to her and she waved back.

'Lily!' the female of the two exclaimed. 'Are you staying?'

'Just a week.' Lily smiled kindly as her grandmother chivvied her towards the front door.

'You two must come and have dinner with us one night.'

'That would be lovely.' Lily answered politely and waved once more before entering the cottage.

'Ruddy Russian Mafia.' her grandmother muttered. 'Always trying to recruit me.'

'Gran, you don't speak Russian. I don't think they'll try and recruit you.'

'You never know.' She shook her head and Lily began dragging her things upstairs. Upon reaching her room, she pushed open the door and Nigel hopped onto the ground to explore his unfamiliar environment. The whitewash walls had pictures of her and the rest of the Evans family on as well as a painting of the sea. Out of the window one could see the beach and the water lapping onto it. The sky was a brilliant blue and the sun's reflection sparkled cheerfully on the sea's surface. As Lily began to unpack, a grey coloured owl appeared at the window and tapped on one of the glass panes. She sighed slightly and went to the window to let it in. It flapped inside and held out a leg. If owls could look smug then this owl definitely did. Its stance was proud and overall the owl had an air of grandeur about it. Lily took the envelope that it carried.

 _Dear Petal,_

 _Passed my Muggle driving test and my father got me a car. Want to go for a spin? Pick you up at 6?_

 _Love Ed_

Edward McClaggen was Lily's boyfriend. The two had been together for almost a year and were expected to be Head boy and girl by most of the Hogwarts population – Lily felt she wouldn't be Head girl and that Remus also had a chance of being Head boy. Edward was good-looking but quite vain and enjoyed talking about himself. He had dark blonde hair that curled slightly at the tips. Lily had never introduced him to her family and they only knew of his existence but not his name. This was the reason James' attending of the wedding as Lily's plus one had caused a slight stir with people wondering if he was her fabled boyfriend. James wasn't, quite obviously, but Lily still didn't tell Edward about who had gone with her. Edward could be a little possessive at times so in her letter to him after the wedding she declined comment on that topic. She had told Marlene, who, for personal reasons, greatly disliked James but tolerated him. He was Quidditch Captain for the Gryffindor team and she on it after all.

Lily sent back a reply of _Would love to. See you later!_ and hurried downstairs to inform her grandmother.

'Oh, good.' Natasha Evans said as she came into the kitchen. 'You're here. I thought we'd go have a pub lunch.'

'Sounds good to me.' Lily responded.

'Well, put your shoes on and we'll head out.' The two women walked into the hallway and Lily pulled on a pair of white sandals. Once she was ready, they headed outside and began the short walk to the centre of town.

'Is it alright if I go out with my boyfriend later? He just got a car and wanted to meet up.'

'What time?'

'6.'

'Yes, of course.' her grandmother replied. 'But don't stay out too late. The Russian Mafia work most at night.'

'Sure, Gran.' Lily linked her arm through her grandmother's as they reached the pub. The local pub was called The Crooked Billet and was a beautifully old Tudor building. It was run by Mr and Mrs Finch-Fletchley and the two loved nothing more than gardening so the whole front of the pub was covered on a glorious array of flowers. There were no roses however, as Natasha Evans detested roses and Mrs Finch-Fletchley was her niece. They pushed the door open and stepped into the cosy little pub. The inside had many little nooks and crannies where tables or booths were located. Behind the mahogany bar was the menu for the day and Lily's stomach gave a small grumble of longing. There was a table by one of the front windows which they took and after Lily read out the options to her grandmother, she went to the bar to order.

'Lily! Long-time no see!' Mr Finch-Fletchley was manning the bar and he grinned at her as she approached.

'Yes.' Lily smiled back. 'It's good to be back.'

'What will it be for you today?'

'Can I please have the Classical Burger with chips, Gran wants the grilled chicken and a jug of water for the table?'

'Certainly. I send that to the kitchen now. That's £20.98.' Lily pulled out her purse and handed over the correct amount. Then she returned to the table.

* * *

James lay on his bed in Sirius' house staring at the room before him. His stay with his surrogate brother had been much like any other time he was with him. Remus and Peter too stayed over and the four of them had spent their time doing things that distracted from the deaths of his parents. Two-aside Quidditch was usually the most popular choice and otherwise they (Sirius and James as the others refused) exercised to vent their feelings or sat attempting to fix a battered motorbike Sirius had inherited from his Uncle Alphard.

But now James was alone, doing absolutely nothing. The others had gone out to buy food but he'd opted to stay in his room. To most people, James wasn't lying on the bed and instead there was a large stag curled up above the duvet. It was James however, but simply in animagus form. As a stag, he found his mind clearer and less focused on the events of his life. He'd made a promise to Lily just before he left her house that he wouldn't consume any alcohol and he had stuck to his promise. James was always a man of his word.

He watched the red rug on the parquet floor do absolutely nothing for a good half an hour. Strangely enough, the only change in the still room was where the shadows formed. James transformed back into his human form and began to wander around the house. Sirius had inherited this house from his Uncle Alphard alongside the broken motorbike and a huge sum of Galleons, Sickles and Knuts. James had never met Alphard Black but from everything Sirius had ever said about him he was simply an older version of Sirius. He walked into the garden and admired the flowers for a moment. Some were magical flowers whilst others were without magical properties. For example, a cluster of lilies at the side of the path he walked along. James didn't like lilies and in particular white ones. They reminded him of death far too much. The only lily he did like was a person and she too disliked the flowers that were her namesake. Lily had told him as much when they were dancing at the wedding.

A shout from the door into the garden told him that the others had returned. He turned and headed back to where they were.

'Padfoot, why do you have to flirt with every female we come across?' Peter grumbled as they all trooped into the kitchen.

'Don't worry, Wormy.' Sirius reassured him and ruffled Peter's corn coloured hair. 'I'll leave the ugly birds for you and Moony.'

'I resent that.' Remus muttered as Peter elbowed Sirius in the stomach. They unpacked the shopping and after James chased Remus with a tin of anchovies they all headed into the living room. Sirius flopped onto one of the sofas and spread himself out lazily as James sprawled out in an armchair. Peter and Remus took the two remaining sofas.

'So, Prongsie, had any letters from your lady love?' Sirius asked with a smirk. James threw a cushion at his head. 'I'll take that as a no.'

'Well, he hasn't written to her.' Remus pointed out. 'Lily wrote to me a few days ago. Apparently, McClaggen wants to be Minister of Magic and she's worried she'll hinder his chances.'

'Did he tell her that?' James asked thunderously. Sirius let out a bark of laughter at his reaction and opened his mouth to say something. He closed it again with a look from Remus.

'I doubt it.' Remus answered calmly and James pulled a sceptical expression. 'But I suppose there's a small chance he did.'

'McClaggen's a wanker, Prongs.' Sirius comforted his friend and threw the cushion back at him. 'But Evans is tough. I know you have your bloody hero complex about her but she's a big girl. She can look after herself.'

'They've been together a year tomorrow.' James moaned, closing his eyes.

'Not that anyone's counting.' Peter added and the others, sans James, laughed.

'He calls her Petal!' James put his head in his hands. 'Every time he does I just want to knock his teeth out. If she wasn't there I probably would.'

'We fucking know.' Sirius groaned dramatically and received three cushions to the face. 'Oi!'

'I'm pretty sure Lily hates that name but-'

'She wouldn't want to hurt his feelings.' James snapped. And with that, Remus began the 39-minute pillow fight that followed.

* * *

It was 6 pm and Lily looked at herself in the mirror that hung in her grandmother's hallway. She'd braided her hair into a loose plait that hung over her shoulder and donned a long mustard yellow cardigan over her white summer dress. Some mascara and lip balm completed her look and as the doorbell rang, she straightened her dress. She opened the door to reveal Edward and hugged her grandmother goodbye before following him to a red convertible Jaguar.

'What d'you think?' he asked as they got in.

'It's lovely.' Lily smiled at him and he kissed her briefly. Then he put his keys in the ignition and they drove off. 'So, where are we going?'

'I thought we drive along the coast and stop for some food. I packed some so we'll find a spot and park there.'

'Great.' She paused. 'How are your parents?'

'Good, good. Father and I went to the Foulmouth Falcons game and they won, obviously. If I'd been the Keeper they wouldn't have let in quite so many goals but then again, I can't do every career in the world. Minister of Magic will keep me busy enough.'

'Of course not.' Lily smiled into her lap. 'Doing every career in the world is impossible.'

'Well, of course it is, Petal.' Edward agreed with a slightly patronising tone. 'Though I'm sure I'd be exceptional at all of them.'

'I'm sure you would.'

The next hour followed with similar conversation. To Lily's memory, there had never been much, if any, excitement in their relationship. Edward had been her first, if slightly unexpected, kiss and the two had become an official couple a week or so later. He was not a romantic but then again, nor was she. Their relationship was sensible. There was no passion and Marlene would on occasion ask Lily why they were still an item for this reason. Truth be told, Lily felt secure in their relationship. It was everything she'd ever thought dating would be like when it came to her – normal. And it was familiar, never unexpected. The two were attracted to each other after all and Edward always seemed so practical which was a pleasant change from the majority of males at school. He spoke of the future and careers and sensible things which was what had first captured Lily's attention. Although he mainly spoke about himself, Lily could find enjoyment in their time together and he wasn't a bad kisser either. But there was no spark between them and in that way, she was exactly like her sister.

Edward drove the car onto a small patch of grass at the side of the road and they got out. They'd reached a part of the cliff that had some wooden steps down to a small beach with powdery sand and gentle waves lapping in the breeze. Edward took the basket of food and Lily a blanket to sit on and the two of them climbed down the steps. They chose a spot by a clump of rocks and laid down their things. Lily smiled and sat down on the blanked. Edward joined her and she rested her head on his shoulder as they watched the horizon for a moment. The sun hung low in the sky and cast a peachy glow over the world below it.

'Do you think the sky knows how beautiful it is?' Lily asked into the silence. Edward frowned at his girlfriend.

'That is a really weird thing to say.' he said and shook his head. 'Can't you just enjoy the sunset?'

'Sorry.' she mumbled and took her head off his shoulder. Lily hugged her cardigan close and watched the sun. She wondered what Marlene was doing at that precise moment. In their last conversation, she had mentioned her Aunt and Uncle coming to stay. They always hugged her and she disliked hugs. The only people allowed to hug her were Lily, her brother and both her parents.

'Let's make a start on food.' Edward announced and they began to tuck into the selection of food. He'd brought sandwiches, a chocolate sponge cake and some cocktail sausages. They ate in silence and Lily stifled a burp after a particularly big piece of cake. It made her think that if she'd been with anyone else, they wouldn't have minded but Edward was very image conscious and perfect manners were very important to him. After they'd eaten their fill, Lily turned her face back to the sunset. She heard Edward fumbling with something but didn't look at him until he cleared his throat.

'Petal?' he asked uncertainly but relaxed as she smiled at him. 'As you know, I want to be Minister for Magic in the future and I think having a supportive wife will be very important to me. I need someone who's serious but kind and someone I can trust to be faithful and always loving. And of course, someone who upholds the standards I set.'

'Of course.' Lily agreed. Something inside of her was fluttering excitedly as though bursting to come out.

'I think I've found that person in you.' Edward finished and fixed her with an eager gaze. Lily felt the fluttering cease and be replaced with a sinking feeling. 'We're both young and at such an age marriage would hardly be appropriate but I'd like to show our feelings for one another to the world.'

'Ed…'

'I've got this for you.' He pulled out a box and opened it to reveal a silver necklace with his name as the charm. Edward took it out and fastened it, a little clumsily, around her neck. He leant forward and kissed her. Obediently, Lily returned it but after a while pulled away. They sat and watched the sunset for a little longer. Edward had his arm around Lily but neither of them looked at each other. A single tear rolled down Lily's cheek and dropped onto the bodice of her white dress.

It was dark when Edward walked Lily from his red car to her grandmother's front door. He kissed her on the cheek and she entered the house, closing the door behind her with a small wave at her boyfriend. Natasha Evans hurried into the hallway to see if her granddaughter had returned in one piece and looked suspiciously through the window next to the front door at the red car just starting to drive away.

'If it doesn't work out with him, don't feel too bad.' she told her granddaughter who looked at her in surprise. 'He's in the Russian Mafia. I can tell.'

'How?'

'He drives a red car, Lily! Red!' Lily's grandmother hugged her close. 'It's the best way to give a subtle hint at his allegiance.'

'You can't just accuse everyone who drives a red car as being part of the Russian Mafia!'

'Lily, dear, one thing you learn with age is that anyone could be part of the Russian Mafia. It's only the clever ones who can identify them'

'I think I'm going to bed.' Lily mumbled and kissed her grandmother's forehead before heading upstairs. She washed her face and cleaned her teeth before changing into her pyjamas. In front of the mirror in the bathroom, she stared at the necklace that lay innocently on her chest. She took two aspirins and went into her room. Lily curled up in her bed and Nigel hopped onto her feet, settling himself there. The silence of the night meant one could hear the sound of the waves crashing down on the shore in their never-ending cycle.

 **What do you think of Edward?**

 **Please Review :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Did you enjoy last chapter? I hope so! I personally love Lily's gran but maybe I'm a bit biased. Anyway...**

 **Enjoy :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Diagon Alley**

* * *

The summer holidays reached their 4th week and with that came a professional looking Barn owl bearing a thick and strangely heavy letter with the address written in emerald ink. The back was sealed with a wax seal of a crest. This letter arrived on the Evans' kitchen table during the early hours of the morning so only Lily and her father were awake. Mrs Evans continued to snooze upstairs whilst the other two residents of the house steadily made their way through their bowls of Weetabix. Lily had returned from her grandmother's just last night and so she was a little tired. She yawned frequently between mouthfuls of cereal but habit had awoken her at 7 am that morning.

The owl flew through the open kitchen window and held out its leg. Lily took the envelope and, in her sleepy state, attempted to read its contents.

 _Dear Miss Evans,_

 _The school term will resume on September the 1_ _st_ _and your ticket is attached. It gives me great pleasure to inform you that you have been chosen as Head girl for this coming school year. This is an extremely important and responsible position but I have the upmost faith that you will succeed. You will receive further instructions alongside the Head boy on the Hogwarts Express, which leaves and precisely 11 o'clock. Please wait in the Prefect Compartment._

 _I wish you an enjoyable remainder of the holidays and look forward to seeing you in the new school term._

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _Albus Dumbledore_

The envelope also included a second letter with her booklist, which she scanned quickly, and her Head girl badge. The badge was the Hogwarts crest but had a gold band across it that was engraved with the words _Head Girl_. Happiness flickered inside her and she showed it to her father who hugged her across the table.

'Congrats, Lily!' He beamed at his daughter and ruffled her hair. 'Head girl… That's brilliant!'

'Thanks.' She smiled back before returning to her breakfast.

'D'you want to celebrate?' Mr Evans asked, his eyes shining with pride.

'No… It's okay. I'm probably spending today with Marlene if she's free so we can buy our school things.'

'Kids, always going out with their mates.' he muttered jokingly and Lily didn't hear him as she stood up. She washed up her crockery and headed to her bedroom. Pulling her red leather notebook and a pen towards her, she wrote a message inside it.

 _ **Lily: Got your Hogwarts letter yet?**_

 _ **Marlene: Just now. You?**_

 _ **Lily: Same. Are you free to go shopping today?**_

 _ **Marlene: Fuck yes! My Aunt and Uncle are driving me fucking mad.**_

 _ **Lily: 12? Leaky Cauldron?**_

 _ **Marlene: See you there!**_

 _ **Lily: See you.**_

She replaced her stationery and set about choosing clothes to change into. Lily opted for a pair of black high waisted shorts and a t-shirt that had a joke about particles on it. This she wore with a pair of black converses and then she applied minimal makeup. For the next few hours, Lily read a book called _War With the Newts_. Although it contained lots of offensive language, the book had a way of drawing the reader directly into the story and discussed many political issues. Mrs Evans poked her head in to congratulate her daughter on her Head girl title but she was the only visitor. Time passed quickly as Lily read and soon the time was 11.45. She put down the book and grabbed a handbag. Making sure her purse, school supplies list and wand were inside it, she went downstairs and waved goodbye to her parents, who were drinking tea in the garden. In the hallway, Lily spun on the spot and Disapparated.

She rematerialized in a smoky pub and scanned it quickly. It didn't take her long to find her dark haired best friend; she only had to follow the sound of raised voices. Marlene was arguing with a man at the bar who had, it transpired, groped her.

'And you think my nice arse is open to blokes like you?' she thundered at a slimy-haired man.

'Marls.' Lily addressed her best friend as the man spluttered.

'Hey, Lil.' She engulfed her in a one arm hug, momentarily distracted. Then Marlene glared back at the man. 'You can piss off with your fucking oily hair to the fat fryer you were born in!'

'Marls, let's just go.' Lily mouthed an apology to the barman, who'd been looking at Marlene in annoyance, and ushered her out into the courtyard behind the pub. With her wand, she tapped the third brick on the left and an archway began to form. They walked through this archway and on to an alleyway lined with shops. It wasn't particularly crowded and those walking on it were generally in a hurry.

'So… Did you get it?'

'Get what?'

'Yes, you fucking did! You're bloody Head girl, aren't you?' Marlene thumped Lily on the back as they walked towards Gringotts Wizarding Bank.

'Maybe.'

'Fucking shit balls!' Marlene exclaimed. 'My best mate's gone and fucking got Head girl! Just think of the possibilities… All the rules I can break without a single bloody detention!'

'Marls, I don't think that's true…'

'Are you getting your own dormitory? If that's true then you're sharing with me. I'm not fucking sharing with the other girls in our dorm without back up.'

'There's nothing wrong with them, Marls.' Lily shook her head as they reached the bank. A Goblin bowed as they entered and the two passed through the large silver double doors into a high-ceilinged room with a giant hanging chandelier. The walls were lined with counters that had more Goblins behind them serving people or counting valuable gemstones. They made their way to one of these counters and Lily went first, exchanging her Muggle money for Wizarding coins. Then it was Marlene's turn and another Goblin was summoned to take them through a second set of doors and to a dingy corridor with a single rickety cart in it. All three of them climbed in and the cart rattled off. The journey to Marlene's vault did not take long and Lily remained in the cart as the Goblin and Marlene clambered out and towards a large metal door. Marlene put a miniature gold key in the lock and the door swung open with a slight creak. Inside the vault was a vast sum of coins and Lily fiddled the fastening of her necklace. She held it so far in front of her that the charm dug into the back of her neck.

'Now Edward'll be in you forever.' Marlene whined as she returned with her purse full of coins. 'Who wants that dick inside of them?' The cart made its way back. 'NO OFFENCE, LIL!' she yelled over the sound of the wheels against the track. Lily waited until they were outside once more before she answered.

'It's only an imprint on my neck.' Lily chose to ignore her best friend's question.

'You're shitting me!' Marlene burst out and a few people turned to look at her. Lily turned slightly pink at the attention the two received from her friend's eruption.

'About what?' she asked warily.

'You didn't even fucking complain about having him inside you!' She looped an arm around her. 'Lilykins, just admit you hate shagging good old Eddie.'

'Ed is perfectly nice.'

'Soooo nice he got you that fucking bullshit necklace.' The two entered Abbott Apothecaries and Lily began examining some dried black beetles. 'Who the fuck makes their girlfriend wear a necklace with their name on it?'

'Didn't you have one in first year with George on it?' Lily pointed out.

'That was first year!' Marlene wailed and threw one of the beetles at her. 'What did I know?'

'It's not a horrible necklace.' Lily said fairly and replaced the beetle. 'It's silver which goes with a lot of things.' Marlene snorted. 'Let's just buy our potions ingredients.'

* * *

A few hours later and the two girls only had their uniform left to purchase. Both had grown over the holidays and new clothes were definitely in order. Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasion was empty except for the owner and a shop assistant who both leapt into action as Marlene and Lily entered.

'Good afternoon, dears.' Madame Malkin, the owner, bowed slightly as they walked over to the counter. 'Hogwarts robes?'

'Yes.' Marlene nodded impatiently. 'And we need dress robes.'

'We do?' Lily asked blankly.

'Yes, we do. Sluggy's Christmas Party, remember?'

'Oh, I was just going to wear my robes from last year.'

'Lil, how are you supposed to make your relationship even the tiniest bit exciting if you refuse to change things up?' Marlene asked in despair and turned to Madame Malkin. 'Just show her some dresses.'

'Nothing too short.' Lily called after her and the shop assistant as they rushed off to fetch as many dresses as they could carry. They returned with school uniforms and some dresses for both Marlene and Lily. Marlene went with the shop assistant and Madame Malkin indicated that Lily should follow her. They went to a stand at the back of the shop and focused on the school uniform first. Madame Malkin draped a set of black robes around her and set about taking in parts of the material.

Once the school uniform was fitted, they moved on to dress robes. Madame Malkin produced an emerald dress. Lily pulled it on and stared in the mirror. It was tight-fitting and had a slit up the side. The neckline came down lower than Lily felt Edward would think appropriate for his supposed future wife.

'I'm not sure I can wear this.' Lily said apologetically.

'But you look so beautiful in this! And it's not too short.'

'It's lovely, I – I just don't think my boyfriend would like me wearing it.' Lily often hated herself for the way she dictated parts of her life for Edward. It was the fear of losing something stable that kept her from ending things between them. She had lost someone in the past who she felt would always be friends with. When that constant was been lost Lily had coped but then her grandfather died the same month and it was almost as though Lily had cracked. It was then that Lily had kissed Edward. They had bumped into each other in Diagon Alley during the summer holidays before 6th year and Lily ended up spilling everything to him. The kiss between them had been the most romantic occurrence in their entire relationship but ever since then Edward had been her new constant. He wasn't unpredictable and Lily could spend hours with him without being required to say much.

'I'm sure it will spice things up between you.' Madame Malkin prompted but Lily shook her head.

'No, thank you.' They went to the counter and Lily paid for her school robes. Marlene hung back muttering with Madame Malkin for a moment before paying for her things and then the two girls headed out of the shop.

They wandered back towards the Leaky Cauldron and chatted aimlessly.

'The Foulmouth Falcons suck. There's no way they'll beat Puddlemere.' Marlene argued.

'I don't know a thing about Quidditch.' Lily said and linked arms with her best friend.

'Puddlemere are the best team in the fucking league.'

'You probably want to stay away from Ed on match day.' Lily told her friend.

'He's a fucking Falcon?' Marlene paused for a moment. 'I knew it!'

'Is that supposed to mean something?'

'I would say it means he's a wanker but Potter and Black support Puddlemere so I can't.'

'Marls!' As Lily reprimanded her friend, four figures appeared up ahead; the Marauders, as the four of them were known, strolled down the street. Marlene's fists curled slightly, which Lily noticed, so she ushered her into the nearest shop. If Marlene disliked James Potter then she absolutely hated Sirius Black and was often heard wishing him a painful death. The reasons for Marlene's hatred were known by none except herself, Lily and Sirius, who, for all he claimed otherwise, knew exactly why. Sirius' pretended ignorance meant that Marlene hated him even more. Needless to say, Lily was wise to direct her best friend away from him.

The shop they had entered was in fact a witches' lingerie shop and Lily's lips twitched upwards as she realised this. The walls were lined with mannequins dressed in scandalously bright undergarments and in one corner was a shelf bearing an assortment of masks. In the centre was a mix and match table of bras and knickers. Marlene walked over to a rack of corsets and pulled out a black and purple arrangement.

'Try this.' she instructed and shoved it in Lily's face. Lily took the garment unenthusiastically and headed over to a row of changing rooms with vivid red curtains. She took the first cubicle on the left and Marlene waited outside as Lily struggled into the corset inside it. There was a loud thud that made Marlene jump in shock and then clap a hand to her mouth to stop herself swearing in the middle of the shop. The thud had come from Lily as she'd fallen backwards tying her corset.

'It's on.' Lily said and a second later she stepped out with a self-conscious tread. Marlene nodded with an evil grin.

'You should wear that round Edward.' The shop bell tingled and Lily darted back into the changing room as Marlene cackled.

The two eventually left the shop arm in arm and headed into a nail parlour as Marlene insisted she wanted some false nails and that Lily could do with a manicure.

'I still think you should've bought that corset.' Marlene said as they sat down in front of two heavily fake-tanned witches. Both had peroxide blonde hair that was extremely harsh on the eyes. Lily smiled politely.

'Can I have a gel manicure, please?' Lily asked.

'What colour?' the witch serving Lily responded in a bored tone.

'Neon orange.' Marlene answered for her and Lily glanced at her best friend in exasperation. 'Excitement, Lil. That's what you fucking need to make everything with Eddie great.'

'Thanks, Marls.' The peroxide blonde witches set to work. Marlene and Lily had been best friends since their first day at Hogwarts; the two had really hit it off during the welcome feast, though they'd spoken beforehand, after it had become apparent that the other Gryffindor girls in their year, although friendly, were slightly too boy orientated for their liking. From that moment onwards, they had been inseparable and stuck together through thick and thin.

'You're done.' Lily looked at her nails and smiled appreciatively at them. Although she would never personally have chosen such a loud colour, they did look good. However, Edward had invited her to a family dinner and she was worried neon orange wouldn't be appropriate. Then again, she had a wand and a large number of colour changing spells at her disposal.

'Thank you.'

'Stop being so fucking polite.' Marlene groaned as they paid and walked back out onto Diagon Alley.

'Maybe you should try saying thank you once in a while.' Lily suggested nudging her playfully.

'Keep that perfect appearance bullshit for when you're with Edward.' Marlene complained and looped an arm through Lily's. Marlene didn't like Edward. She didn't really like many people but she put up with Edward for Lily's sake, though that didn't necessarily mean she was polite to him. For all her disregard of the boy, she really did try to support his relationship with her best friend.

If the two girls hadn't had their nails done then they would never have bumped into the four boys Lily had so meticulously attempted to avoid. But they did and therefore the meeting occurred. As the two walked, they heard a loud wolf whistle from behind.

'Bloody hell!' Sirius called from behind them. 'Nice arse, McKinnon!' Lily groaned silently as Marlene spun around looking murderous. She stormed up to Sirius and he stepped back a little despite his widening smirk at the fact she had reacted.

'You want a fucking fight?' Marlene hissed venomously.

'I was simply commenting on what was before me.'

'Oh, you're so fucking good at that aren't you?' she snapped and cracked her knuckles. 'Lil, the precious prick's good at commentating!' Lily stood warily behind her best friend, not wanting to be pulled into the fight nor wanting to stand by and let it happen.

'I'm so glad you can appreciate my skill set.' he said smoothly. 'Really, McKinnon. I think you're overreacting. If you ask me, it was simply a compliment.'

'No one was asking you!' Marlene snarled and Lily put a restraining arm in front of her.

'Marls.' Lily said with a warning tone.

'Well, it's lucky we ran into you, Evans.' James said, cutting through any comments either Sirius or Marlene were about to make. 'We're throwing a party in the last week of the holidays and we were wondering if you and McKinnon wanted to come. Most people in 5th and upwards'll be there so you'd be missing out if you didn't.'

'Will there be drink?' Marlene asked, instantly forgetting about Sirius at the prospect of a party. 'I'm not coming if there's no drink.'

'Obviously.' Sirius scoffed. 'What kind of parties d'you think we throw?' Marlene chose to ignore his comment and kept her focus on James.

'We'll be there.' she answered and then began ushering Lily away from the four boys. Lily waved goodbye to be polite and momentarily caught Remus' eye. An unspoken conversation passed between them and he nodded in understanding before following his fellow Marauders. Lily turned to Marlene.

'I don't know if I can go. Ed might not-'

'Edward'll be there so stop fussing.' Marlene interrupted. They continued to walk in silence until they reached the brick archway.

'How about we get ready at mine?' Lily suggested as they hugged each other goodbye.

'Good idea.' Marlene ruffled her hair and then both girls Disapparated to their separate destinations.

As Lily rematerialized in her bedroom, she went to her door and called out that she'd returned. Then she closed the door and began searching her wardrobe for what she could wear for dinner at Edward's house. She decided on a floral-patterned dress in a vintage style that had a skirt which came out slightly. Slipping it on, she pulled out a curling wand from her cupboard and plugged it into the socket. The she seated herself beside it and in front of her full-length mirror. Once the curling wand was heated, Lily set about giving her self curls and this she did for about 30 minutes, until every last strand of her deep red hair was curled. After that, Lily charmed her neon orange nails to a much more subdued dark teal. She grabbed her handbag just as the doorbell rang and as Lily made her way into the landing she could hear her father talking to Edward.

'So, you're Lily's boyfriend?' he asked.

'Yes.' came Edward's short reply. Lily hurried down the stairs and hastily hugged both her parents goodbye. Only once the front door was shut did she greet Edward.

'You look nice.' she told him with a smile.

'Thanks. It's a Muggle designer shirt. I believe it's Armani.'

'Expensive.' Lily murmured but continued smiling nonetheless. 'Are we driving to yours, then?'

'Petal, do you really think we'll be driving to Southampton from here when we have to be there in two minutes?' he asked her and she shook her head. Then, Edward held tightly onto her arm and they apparated to his large family house. The McClaggen house was built of grey granite and was an extremely imposing building. It had a wrought iron fence all the way around it and the windows, although large, all had heavy curtains in them that blocked all light from entering or leaving the house. 'Impressive, isn't it?' Edward had taken Lily's silence for awe rather than unease. 'My family have lived here for 500 years.'

They walked up to the front door and Edward knocked. It was opened at once by a House Elf dressed in a pillowcase, which took Lily's bag and disappeared before she could thank them. They walked through the hallway and into a large dining room with Edward pointing out portraits of long deceased ancestors as they went. They reached the dining room and Lily took in the three people waiting for them. The tallest was Edward's father, a pompous looking man with the exact same hair as his son. Next to Mr McClaggen stood his wife, a haughty woman dressed in a salmon pink dress that instantly reminded Lily of her sister. And the final person was a girl of about 15 with mousy brown hair, which was tied in a braid. Her face was saddened and there was a great air of defeat around her; this was Edward's younger sister.

'You must be Lily.' Mr McClaggen said and shook Lily's hand. Mrs McClaggen kissed her on both cheeks in greeting and Edward's sister simply stood behind her parents. Lily smiled at her kindly.

'It's nice to meet you.' she said politely.

'This is my sister Lydia.' Lily nodded at the younger girl who looked timidly back. They all took their seats and a moment later four House Elves came scurrying in carrying delicious looking dishes. Once all the food had arrived, they placed some on their plates and began to eat. Lily sat in between Mrs McClaggen and Edward.

'So, Eddie, I had a word with the Minister today and he says he could get you a good spot once you finished school.' Mr McClaggen said after he swallowed a mouthful of chicken.

'Thank you, father.' Edward answered. Lily focused her attention on her food, feeling as though she wasn't meant to be there. For the briefest of moments, her mind wandered towards what Marlene and Remus might be doing at that precise moment but Edward's hand caressing her thigh brought her back to reality. She attempted not to look uncomfortable and allowed him to continue as Mrs McClaggen asked her about ballgowns.

'I personally prefer a variety of pink tones.' she was saying. 'They bring out my complexion most wonderfully. What colour do you favour?'

'Green, I suppose.' Lily answered. 'It doesn't clash with my hair.'

'Yes, green would suit you. Lydia can't wear green – it makes her look sickly. Doesn't it, darling?'

'Yes, mother.' Lydia mumbled in response and looked at her plate. Lily immediately felt sorry for her and attempted to compliment her.

'I think lavender would look wonderful on you.' she said and Lydia glanced at her in surprise.

'Perhaps.' Mrs McClaggen agreed disdainfully and ate a little more of her food.

'I saw you have a large garden.' Lily directed this comment at Lydia. 'Maybe you could show me some of it after dinner?'

'Lydia's health,' Mrs McClaggen began irritably, 'does not allow her to leave the house. Edward can show you the gardens.' Lily nodded and returned to her plate. Lydia was home-schooled and her parents hadn't let her leave the house in several years due to her health. She didn't have a sickly complexion, Lily noted, nor did her skin seem like that of someone who hadn't been outside in a long time. They rest of the meal passed with little conversation and once the plates had been collected, Mrs McClaggen and Lydia stood up. 'Lily, let us leave the men and head into the drawing room.'

'Yes, of course.' Lily hastened to follow the two females out of the room and was silent as they entered a room filled with luxurious sofas and chaise lounge. By the large curtained windows was a gilded table with a chess set atop it. 'Would you like to play a game of chess?' she asked Lydia, who nodded.

'Ladies do not indulge in such activities as chess.' Mrs McClaggen scolded. 'It is a game for men. Women are better occupied with other tasks such as needlework.'

Lily apologised and seated herself on one of the sofas in defeat. It was clear that she had a lot to learn before she could be the perfect wife of a pureblood Minister for Magic.

 **Please Review :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: What did you guys think of Marlene? Did you like her?**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: A Significant Squabble**

* * *

The last week of the summer holidays dawned and James awoke, filled with a large bubble of joy that hadn't been present since his parents' death. In a week's time, he would be far away from anywhere that reminded him of his parents and tonight he, with the rest of the Marauders, would be hosting a party that promised to be epic. He climbed out of bed and walked over to the window. It transpired that he'd forgotten to close his curtains the night before as sunlight streamed into the room and tickled his bare chest. James was athletic in his physic and although he had begun life as small and skinny, puberty had graced him with height and muscles. His toned body was something he was exceptionally proud of and enjoyed showing it off to giggling females in the summer months. There was one particular female who he wished would admire him but she was not the kind of person to giggle at anything. No, Lily was far too sensible for that, James thought to himself with a small smile. It was the image of Lily's smile as they had danced at her sister's wedding that had brought great comfort to James during the summer. Whenever he was close to sinking down into the ever-present despair that accompanied him everywhere, the memory of her laughter, of her dancing in the rain, of her absentminded smile as she walked down the aisle, would be enough to save him.

'OI, PRONGS!' Sirius bellowed from downstairs. 'GET YOUR ARSE DOWNSTAIRS! WE'VE GOT PREPARATIONS TO DO!' James took a last look out of the window and then hastily grabbed some clothes, which he changed into before heading down the stairs and into the kitchen. Sirius sat at the kitchen counter sipping a coffee and flipping lazily through a magazine filled with extremely crude pictures of women.

'Having fun?' James asked with an amused glance at the magazine.

'They're alright.' he answered with a shrug.

'Who are you and what've you done with Padfoot?' Although James laughed, Sirius didn't find it at all amusing and threw the magazine at James' head.

'Piss off.' Sirius groaned into his hands and took another sip of coffee. James seemed to sense his best friend wanted to change subject and did just that.

'So, party prep…'

'Yeah. We need to set up the drinks table, make sure all the food's done and sort out music.'

'When are Moony and Wormtail getting here?'

'In an hour but Wormy and Moony have a bet going about how much we'll manage without them.' James grinned.

'Then we'd better make sure one of them loses.' And the two boys set to work. For the next hour, they pushed around tables and chairs, carried crates of alcohol, chose records and stacked plates and glasses. When Remus and Peter arrived, the preparations were nowhere near finished but they had managed to get further than Remus' prediction. A smug looking Peter was handed 5 gold galleons and the work continued.

* * *

Lily's morning was not quite so eventful, though she did take a morning after pill once she returned from an unexpected overnight stay with Edward. Then she began consuming a large amount of chocolate as she watched Dad's Army. Marlene was due after lunch so Lily was in no haste to remove herself from the sofa in her living room. Her father watched her worriedly from the doorway and as little Nigel crawled into her lap her, he wondered, as fathers often did, what was going on in his youngest daughter's mind. Mrs Evans came up behind her husband and for a moment the two parents watched their daughter steadily eat her way through a giant bar of Cadbury's milk chocolate. Mr Evans shook his head at his wife and with great reluctance both of them turned away and left Lily once more.

She watched Dad's Army for a little longer but eventually grew restless and made her way upstairs. Lily fiddled with the fastening of the necklace Edward had given her. Ever since she'd received it, Lily had found herself toying with the idea of removing it and as the days progressed, the urge only grew stronger and stronger. But still she resisted. The doorbell rang and Lily retraced her steps downstairs to open the front door. As soon as she did, Marlene engulfed her in a tight hug.

'HI, MR AND MRS EVANS!' she called in greeting and received one in response. Lily simply grinned before dragging her upstairs. 'I swear I'm going to fucking murder my brother!' Marlene announced as soon as Lily's bedroom door was shut. 'He nicked my wand and I was chasing after him all morning!'

'Lucky you do Quidditch then, I suppose.' Lily mused and Marlene grimaced.

'I'm a Beater not one of the fucktard Chasers! All my strength is in my arms!'

'What's wrong with the Chasers?' Lily asked, although she already knew the answer.

'Prick Potter's a Chaser.' came her response and Lily nodded.

'But you hate Black as well so do Beaters count as-'

'Fucktards? Yeah.' Marlene paused as she climbed onto Lily's bed and stood up. 'But I'm an exception. I, Marlene McKinnon, am too great for such labels. I'm awesome.' She bowed and Lily laughed.

'Please get down from there.' Lily pleaded but was smiling all the same. 'Before you fall off and hurt yourself.'

'Yes, mum.' Marlene stuck out her tongue but sat down on the bed all the same. 'Didn't realise you'd fucking possessed by best mate.' Lily plonked herself down beside Marlene and the two girls leaned back against the wall. They stared at the opposite side of the room for a while, lost in thought, until Marlene broke the silence. 'Shit.'

'What?'

'We're gunna be 7th years, aren't we?' Lily didn't answer. 'Setting examples for younger students.'

'I'm Head girl, as well. That means I have to be perfect at all times.' Lily sighed.

'You already are perfect.' Marlene reassured her with a nudge. 'Otherwise you wouldn't put up with me.'

'Hey! Putting it like that makes you sound awful.' Lily slid down the wall so that her torso was sprawled across the bed but her legs dangling off the side. 'You may get angry-'

'All the time.'

'A lot.' Lily corrected with a smile. 'But you can always make me smile and you're always there for me…' She trailed off and squeezed her best friend's hand.

'Through thick and thin.' Marlene said and Lily grinned. They had made that promise in first year when they'd first become best friends and the phrase had stuck because every day it just seemed to fit better and better.

'Through thick and thin.' Lily agreed.

* * *

With the preparations finished, Sirius strolled upstairs to begin work on his infamous hair. James changed into a white shirt and then was challenged to a game of Wizarding chess, which he accepted. He was notoriously awful at chess and Peter extremely good so Remus settled himself down for what promised to be an eventful match.

'Did Evans get Head girl?' James asked as he moved one of his pawns forward.

'I'm not sure.' Remus responded thoughtfully. 'She hasn't mentioned in her letters but that might be because she knows I'm not Head boy and thinks I'm sad about it.'

'You haven't told her who it is, have you…' Peter said shrewdly and then glanced at James before claiming one of his violently shaking pawns.

'Prongs wants to surprise Lily on the train.' Remus explained.

'Well, it would ruin her holidays if she knew now.' James defended and moved another chess piece forward.

'You don't know that.' Remus said softly. 'She doesn't hate you, you know.'

'No, that's McKinnon.' James grumbled.

'Maybe you should make up with McKinnon. Evans won't be friends with you if McKinnon doesn't like you.' Peter said wisely. 'Check.'

'How d'you-' James began and moved his king. 'There's no making up with McKinnon. It's more complicated than she just hates me… Just drop it, okay?'

'Yeah… About that. Why does she hate you?' Remus asked curiously.

'I said drop it.' James answered and it was clear that this interrogation was over. 'Anyone you two have your eyes on during this party?'

'No one.' Peter said hurriedly and turning pink.

'Who is it, Wormy?' James asked immediately with an evil grin sliding into place.

'No one.' he repeated nervously.

'Moony! Grab him!' James yelled and both he and Remus pounced on Peter. Then the ticking commenced and Peter squirmed about (he was extremely ticklish). This continued for five minutes until Peter struggled free.

'S-Stop!' he pleaded, gasping for breath. Remus and James moved towards him and he backed away. 'Fine. I'll tell you.' Peter began fiddling with his sleeve and avoided their gaze. 'It's Flora Jenkins… She's in-'

'Hufflepuff.' Remus finished and grinned at his friend. 'I believe,' he began turning to James, 'that she's currently single but on the last day of term was seen carrying a large bunch of roses...'

'It's interesting you should say that, Moony.' James responded. 'Because I was sure I'd seen that too and the bloke who gave them too her.'

'Oh really?' Remus asked, intrigued. 'What did he look like?'

'Well, he had blond hair, blue eyes and a big smile on his face.'

'He sounds familiar…' Both boys turned to Peter with their eyes wide. 'He sounds a lot like Wormtail.'

'Now I think about it he did look extremely similar to Wormtail… And who is it that Wormtail has a massive thing for?' The two gasped collectively.

'Flora Jenkins!' they chorused.

'Oh, fuck off, you two.' Peter groaned.

'That was rude.' Sirius said from the doorway and all three of them turned to face him. He wore a smirk as he leaned against the doorframe. 'Prongs, Moony, that was slow work. It's lucky you've got Wormtail and I to be the brains of the group.'

* * *

Progress with getting ready in Lily's bedroom had come to a halt as Marlene had been riffling through Lily's wardrobe for about half an hour trying to find the perfect outfit. Lily sat cross-legged in front of her mirror adding wings to her eyeliner. Then she proceeded to put on mascara and considered putting on lipstick already or waiting until Marlene had decided what she was to wear.

'Can I put on lipstick now or should I wait?'

'That might help actually. What colour?'

'I was thinking dark red.' Lily had her own reasons for choosing such an unsubtle colour and although she didn't elaborate, Marlene understood instantly. She frowned a little worriedly at the red-head, who was now applying lipstick, but returned to searching through the wardrobe without saying anything. And then she found something.

'Fuck yes!' Marlene exclaimed delightedly. She held out a black, flowing bell sleeved blouse and a dark green suede mini skirt. 'Wear it with some black tights.' she instructed and Lily took the clothes. She changed into it as Marlene stole her spot in front of the mirror to do her own makeup. As she lined her eyes with kohl and put foundation on her skin, Lily pulled on some tights and wiggled into the skirt. Then she tucked the blouse into the top of her skirt and rummaged around her shoe box for a pair of black high heels. She found some and slipped them onto her feet.

'What d'you think?' Lily asked slowly revolving on the spot. 'It's not too short, is it?'

'It looks great!' Marlene reassured her and grinned. 'You can see your pants b-'

'What?' Lily said horrified and Marlene cackled.

'I'm only messing.' Lily visibly relaxed. Marlene stood up and pulled her in front of the mirror. The two girls stood side to side to side in the mirror and smiled at their reflections. Marlene wore a pair of high-waisted shorts that were pale denim, a top which looked more like a black bra (though she insisted it wasn't) and a denim jacket embroidered with many badges and logos.

'You look amazing, Marls.' Lily told her friend earnestly. Marlene bowed and both of them laughed. Then, Lily pulled out her record player and put Elton John's Crocodile Rock on. Marlene rolled her eyes slightly at the choice of song but then began dancing. For a while, they messed around and then decided to head downstairs for something to drink. They entered the kitchen, which was empty, and Lily got out two glasses. 'What d'you want to drink? Nothing with alcohol, obviously.'

'I'll just have some water.'

'Snap!' Lily said with a grin and Marlene laughed. She filled the glasses with tap water.

'We don't change, do we?'

'Who wants to grow up?' Lily asked dramatically as she handed Marlene a glass of water. They both began laughing just as the door from the garden into the kitchen opened.

'Hello, ladies.' Lily's cousin Henry had just entered the Evans' kitchen. Marlene had met him the first time she'd ever been to Lily's house so she raised a hand in greeting. Most of Lily's family lived in the same town so family members dropping in to say hello was quite common place.

'Harry!' Lily got up and hugged her cousin.

'You two looked dressed up.' Henry pointed out with a grin. 'Got a study group later?'

'Congrats, mate. You got it in one.' Marlene answered and took a sip from her glass.

'Still a charmer, Marlene?'

'That's me.' She raised her glass and all three of them laughed.

'Liv's being yelled at by Mum at the moment so I thought I'd escape.'

'Why's she being yelled at?' Lily asked curiously.

'Apparently, she's started dating this bloke who works at Woolworths and Mum's _really_ happy about it.' Lily nodded, imagining her Aunt Harriet would be extremely disapproving. Of course, Olivia's new boyfriend could be absolutely fine but Lily's aunt had a personal vendetta against Woolworths after they had once sold her a box of chocolates that turned out to be half eaten.

'I'm sure she means well.' Lily reasoned and Henry scoffed but changed topic.

'Is Uncle Will around?'

'Dad's watching an episode of Faulty Towers in the living room.'

'Brilliant!' Henry grinned. 'I'll see you two around – don't drink too much at your study group!'

'Bye, Harry.' Lily said, shaking her head as he left the kitchen. Marlene checked the clock on the wall.

'Shit.' she muttered. 'Edward'll better be fucking here soon or we'll be late.'

'He'll turn up and if he doesn't we'll just have to Apparate. We have the address.' But the world answered Marlene's worries as the doorbell rang. Lily hastened to open the front door and Marlene followed her. Edward nodded at Marlene and she did the same at him. The two girls called goodbye to Lily's parents and grabbed their handbags from the coat hanger. All three of them headed outside and Edward took hold of Lily's hand. Then they all got into his red jaguar and drove away.

The journey was about an hour and both Lily and Marlene had to endure Edward talking about being Minister of Magic for the whole of it. At least Marlene wasn't obliged to show interest and could therefore shut out the sound of his droning voice but Lily, as his girlfriend, was expected to pay attention so that she could agree with him at all the right moments. Once they arrived outside Sirius' house, Marlene scrambled out of the car as fast as she could, fearing any longer with Edward and she might go mad. Lily, however, waited for Edward to check none of his beloved car was scratched before they headed inside. He put his arm around her in possessive fashion as they walked in and glanced around the room before beginning to snog Lily wildly. Edward pushed her against a wall and Lily returned his advances for a while, though her mind drifted elsewhere. Eventually, he stopped and Lily mumbled something about going to get a drink. Her red lipstick, she realised sadly, had not done its job.

The party was in full swing so it took Lily a little while to make her way past the dancing guests and find the kitchen where she filled herself a glass of water from the tap. Out of her handbag she pulled a mirror and her lipstick so that she could sort out the mess that was presumably on her face. It wasn't as bad as she'd feared but it still took a little water and topping up of lipstick to return her face to how it had been before her interaction with Edward.

'Hey, Lily.' Remus appeared beside her.

'Remus.' She smiled with relief and hugged him.

'When did you get here?' he asked.

'Just now. Surprising how quickly I can lose Marlene in that time though.' They both chuckled.

'I thought I saw her giving a lap dance to some Slytherin on my way here.'

'That's likely, I suppose.' The two were silent for a moment and simply watched the party raging in the next room through the open kitchen door. 'Having fun so far?'

'Yeah. But it's good you're here. I don't think they'll be many sober people left soon.'

'I'm glad I can keep you company.'

'D'you want to go get some food?'

'Sure.' They headed back into the main party room and Remus led the way to the food table. Helping herself to two large slices of pizza, Lily turned to watch their fellow party attendees. Marlene was indeed giving a lap dance to a handsome looking Slytherin, who Lily thought might be in the year below them at school. 'Looking forward to school?'

'Not really.' he answered and then grinned. 'But if anyone asks, I said yes.'

'Of course.' Lily nodded solemnly. 'We wouldn't want anyone to think you not in love with homework.'

'I'll have you know it's a serious relationship!' Remus said protectively.

'Very serious.' Lily agreed and the two of them laughed for a while. 'Want to dance for a bit?'

'Why not?' They moved away from the food table and began bobbing to the music. It was fun and Lily found herself relaxing. She could always relax around Remus, that was one of the reasons he was her friend. Of course, he was also good at giving advice, trustworthy, calm and funny. Lily had few close friends, well two, but the two she did have she would do anything for. Remus was a werewolf and to most wizards that made him the opposite of such traits but Lily felt he was just the same as everyone else. Perhaps knowing Remus was a werewolf was what stopped her disliking the rest of the Marauders because they had accepted him regardless of his condition and to Lily that showed they couldn't be completely awful. Then again, maybe that meant nothing because Marlene still hated James and Sirius, though she had no grudge against Peter, and she too knew of Remus' lycanthropy.

From across the room, Edward spotted his girlfriend dancing with Remus and saw that he was not the only one watching them. James too had his eye on them, though he wasn't really looking at Remus, and this irked Edward. He decided that James needed to be shown that Lily was his girlfriend so he made his way over to where she was dancing. Remus seemed to sense he wasn't wanted by Edward and left the couple with an apologetic look at Lily, heading over to Emmeline Vance, who looked slightly lonely by the food table. Edward led Lily to the side of the room and began kissing her all over her face as he pressed her against the wall. Lily became increasingly uncomfortable and gently pushed him off her. He didn't seem to realise Lily's discomfort and put his arm around her and then began moving his lips along her neck. Edward stopped after a while and they both watched the other guests around them.

Marlene and the Slytherin were dancing extremely close to one another. It seemed they had progressed from lap dances as a few seconds later and the two looked a little like they were trying to eat each other's faces. At least she was having fun, Lily thought as she watched her best friend begin to grind on the boy after they had finished snogging.

'Absolutely despicable behaviour.' Edward said disgustedly, following Lily's line of sight. His girlfriend's eyebrow raised itself ever so slightly. 'And in the middle of the dance floor!'

'She's enjoying herself.' Lily defended. 'Just as you were a second ago.' she added bitterly to her own shock as well as Edward's.

'Petal, we are dating! That is completely different. They are going to make love drunkenly and then forget about it the next day!' he argued and Lily looked at her feet. 'I cannot believe how embarrassing she is!'

'Marlene's allowed to have fun.'

'Petal, as you know, my career is extremely important to me. If I want to be Minister of Magic I cannot be associated with someone like that.' He pointed disdainfully at Marlene. 'And that means I'm going to have to put my foot down! You are no longer allowed to be friends with her!'

'I think you've had a bit too much to drink.' Lily laughed nervously.

'Let's go and dance.' Edward said and attempted to pull her towards the dance floor.

'I don't really want to.'

'Petal, this is what couples do at parties – they dance together.' He tugged again.

'I'm not really in the mood.' Lily mumbled.

'I've already seen you dance with Lupin so I know that's not true.' Edward pulled her with him but still she resisted.

'I just want to get some more water or something.'

'Petal, stop being a killjoy and dance with me.' He dragged her towards the dance floor and Lily wrenched her hand out of his.

'I said I don't want to dance!' she snapped. Lily did not often lose her calm demeanour but in this very moment came a rare exception.

'Petal!' Edward reprimanded. 'Do really think you can talk to me like that? I am your boyfriend a-'

'And I'm your girlfriend.' she finished for him. 'I'm glad we agree on something. But I am not your possession! I'm not something you can do with as you please or expect to do whatever you wish like a well-trained puppy!' Lily had been about to say more when she realised the whole room of semi-intoxicated guests had gone silent watching their argument avidly. Her mind backtracked and she simply rushed from the room and from the house.

The summer air was cooler and much more pleasant in the dark of the night. The sky was filled with stars and the outside completely empty of people. Lily sat down on the steps that led up to the front door and looked out over the driveway. She pulled off her high heels and rubbed her toes as she hugged her knees to her chest.

'You know, Evans, anyone walking up those steps can see your pants if you sit like that.' James said with a smirk as he joined her. A small smile formed on her face and he held out a glass bottle. She eyed it slightly suspiciously. 'It's just butterbeer. And no, it's not spiked.'

'Thanks.' Lily accepted the bottle and used her teeth to remove its lid. 'And you try wearing these shoes without massaging your toes afterwards.'

'I would but they look way too small.'

'Of course.' She took a sip and savoured the creamy liquid filling her mouth.

'Besides they look much better on your feet than they ever would on mine.' James leaned back and rested his elbows on the step above the one they sat on. 'D'you want to talk about it?'

'Not really.' Lily sighed. 'You seem better than when you were at mine.'

'Time helps us get over things.' James answered with the air of someone as wise as Merlin. 'For most part, anyway.' he muttered to himself as an afterthought as he glanced at her but Lily didn't hear him.

'I remember when my grandad died I thought I'd never be happy again but slowly it got better and better so that one day I woke up and could look at wisteria without being sad.' she said, nodding in agreement.

'Wisteria?' James asked, confused.

'You know, the plant.'

'No, I know that. I meant, why would wisteria make you sad?'

'Oh.' Lily chuckled slightly at herself. 'My grandad loved gardening and his favourite plant was wisteria. On the day before I left for Hogwarts for the first time, he gave me a wisteria seedling and we planted it together at the front of my house. After he died, every time I saw that wisteria plant he gave me I would get this rage inside of me and I tried to hack it down several times but Dad stopped me. I couldn't look at wisteria for months because it reminded me of him.' She paused and looked at James with an embarrassed smile. 'I don't know why I'm telling you this.'

'I don't mind.' James grinned. 'I was pretty lucky when my parents died. I had all my mates around me and then there was you. You looked after me and you always helped me smile.'

'I'm glad you're feeling better but if you ever want to talk I'm here.' She smiled and leaned back, which caused her hair tumble down her back. James watched it fall but then shook his head like a dog trying to rid itself of water.

'D'you know who the Head girl is?' he asked after a moment. Lily considered telling him the truth but then she thought of Remus and if she told James, he would likely tell Remus. She didn't want to risk hurting his feelings.

'No.' Lily lied. 'I don't. What about the Head boy?'

'Dunno. I bet he's an arsehole though.' James answered with a laugh.

'Well, we'll find out on the train, I'm sure.' Lily said with a smile. 'And I'm sure the Head boy will be great… just - just to prove you wrong!' Lily downed the last of her butterbeer and looked upwards so that she could admire the stars. It really was a beautiful night and although the party hadn't all been enjoyable, she was glad she could spend some of it watching the endless sky above her.

 **Please Review :)**

 **In case you don't know, Woolworths was a shop where you could buy really cheap stuff (like notebooks, clothes and sweets) that was decent quality. I bought a lot of sweets from their pick'n'mix wall when they were still open. They closed officially in 2015 - a sad time for everyone!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Don't you just love drama at parties? Ah well... I hope you like this chapter!**

 **Charnelle Coetzee-Mvula & C. Misty: YOU STILL HAVE WOOLWORTHS? That is so unfair... Britain is seriously missing out... Sorry. I just want to say thanks for your reviews!**

 **SiriusBlackIsAwesome: Thanks for your review - I'm really glad you're enjoying this so far.**

 **Enjoy :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 6: An Apology**

* * *

Edward stood in Lily's doorway with a bunch of lilies face to face with his girlfriend. He knelt down before her and took her hands in his.

'Petal, I'm sorry.' Lily looked down at him and at the flowers within the bouquet.

' _I'm sorry.'_

A ripple of fire seemed to bubble inside the red-head but she ignored it and it extinguished itself faster than it had arrived. Edward waited for her reply and for the first time since they'd been together, Lily sensed he was nervous; it reminded her of their first kiss. They had been sitting on the steps to the back entrance of Flourish and Blotts, in a side alley, and after a moments silence Edward had leaned in and pressed his lips lightly against hers. Then he'd pulled back and watched her apprehensively for her response with his eyes searching her face for any trace of a reaction. She had smiled and entwined her fingers in his before they'd both kissed again. Lily still clung to this memory and it warmed her heart to think about it, even now.

' _I'm not interested.'_

' _I'm sorry!'_

' _Save your breath.'_

'I forgive you.' she said quietly. Edward stood up slowly and hugged Lily tightly. The smell of the bunch of flowers caused Lily's noes to wrinkle slightly but it went unnoticed as her face was squashed into her boyfriend's chest. There was a cough from inside the Evans' hallway; Mr Evans was frowning at the two 17-year-olds before him but as they moved apart and turned to face him, he quickly switched his expression to one of amusement.

'Are you staying for dinner?' he asked.

'Of course.' Edward replied and held out his hand for Mr Evans to shake. 'Edward McClaggen.'

'William Evans.' Lily's father accepted his hand shake after a slightly pregnant pause and then all three of the went into the dining room. Mr Evans left to go help prepare the food and when Lily turned to go with him he shook his head. Instead she remained with Edward and they took their seats. Her boyfriend seated himself in her father's usual seat but he was a guest after all and therefore she said nothing.

'Mother found out yesterday that Lydia has been sneaking out of the house.' Edward said disgustedly. 'She swears no one's seen her do so and I'm hoping that's true because the shame it would bring if someone had.'

'I'm sure she just wanted some fresh air.'

'Petal, she has a serious medical condition which means she cannot go outside!' he responded with a sigh of frustration.

'But that wouldn't make it shameful if someone saw her.'

'Anyone that knows us knows that her condition prevents her venturing outside. What kind of care does it look like we take of her if she sneaks out?'

'It's - I'm sure Lydia meant well.' Lily said softly. 'I'm sure she thought it would be good for her.'

'She doesn't know what's good for her!' Lily would have replied but her mother came in with two plates of pesto spaghetti, followed by her father carrying two more. His face hardened slightly at the sight of Edward sitting in his chair but his wife shot him a warning look so he remained silent. Once everyone had a plate in front of them, Mr and Mrs Evans seated themselves and they all began to eat. Although the silence was due to everyone eating, there was something awkward about it. The chinking of metal cutlery against the ceramic dishes, alongside the occasional cough, were the only sounds that resided in the Evans' dining room.

As Lily ate, her mind wandered to the topic of school and how in exactly 24 hours' time she would be climbing the steps to the gigantic oak front doors of Hogwarts. She thought of her dormitory and the possibility that she would have her own office as Head girl, of the duties and obligations facing her, and of her school work and the exams she would be sitting in less than a year. A rather loud cough from Mr Evans brought her out of this reverie and she attempted to focus on the scene around her.

'So… Edward,' Mrs Evans began, making a brave stab at conversation. 'Lily tells us you want to Minister o-'

'Of Magic. Yes.' Edward nodded and looked at Lily's mother. 'I'm a natural born leader and public speaker so it's only natural that I should have my career head in such a direction.'

'A very respectable choice.' Mr Evans said and took a sip of red wine before dabbing his mouth with a napkin. Lily found herself biting back a smile so she looked guiltily into her lap.

'Oh, yes. It's a very respectable choice – not like an Auror or Quidditch Player.' he replied, with a little snobbishness gracing his tone.

'James wants to be an Auror, doesn't he, Lily?' Mr Evans asked his daughter nonchalantly and endeavoured to prevent himself laughing as Lily's head faced him sharply.

'When you say James… is that James Potter?' Edward asked slightly suspiciously and glanced at his girlfriend.

'Yes.' Mr Evans nodded and his wife sighed exasperatedly as she shared a look with her daughter. 'He's a great young lad.'

'I never realised you had met anyone of Lily and I's peers other than Marlene McKinnon and Remus Lupin.'

'I met James when he-' But Mr Evans broke off because he could have sworn he saw Lily shake her head at him. There was a rather obvious pause while he studied his daughter's slightly widened eyes. 'I… er… I've met him a couple of times when picking up Lily at Kings Cross. We've talked a bit about careers and so on.'

'Lily, how about you help me with dessert?' Mrs Evans suggested and the two females rose from their seats. 'Behave.' she muttered to her husband as she and Lily left the dining room, heading into the kitchen. Lily walked over to the fridge and opened it to reveal a delicious looking trifle. She pulled it out and placed it on the kitchen table and her mother picked up a can of Anchor's Squirty Cream. She began to add fluffy piles of the white cream as Lily held the bowl steady. 'How serious are you and Edward?' she asked her daughter casually.

'Serious?' Lily questioned uncertainly.

'Well, how long have you two been together? About a year?'

'A year.' Lily nodded but focused her gaze on the trifle.

'Your dad and I are just curious seeing as this is the first time we've officially met him. I remember when Pet started seeing Vernon, she talked about him all the time to us. We know you're not Pet but we have noticed you don't mention him to us – not even in your letters.'

'Mum, everything's fine.' Lily still avoided looking at Mrs Evans. Her answer didn't seem to satisfy her mother but the trifle had received all the necessary cream and Lily brought it through to the dining room before she could say anything else. In the dining room, things were still uncomfortable. Edward was fiddling with his wand and seemed completely unaware of Mr Evans watching him closely. Both of them jumped slightly at the loud thud of Lily placing the trifle bowl on the table. A second later and Mrs Evans had given everyone a dessert bowl and was giving out helpings of trifle.

Once all the food had been eaten, Edward rose to his feet and declared he had to head home. It was lucky, really, that he turned to Lily a quick kiss or he would have witnessed Mr Evans silently celebrating and then being swatted on the head by his wife. The others stood also and Lily left the room with him to see him to the front door but her parents remained in the dining room.

'I didn't like him.' they both said in unison once they were out of earshot. Mr Evans put his arms around his wife and she hid her face in his chest.

'He was awful.' she mumbled and he rocked her in comforting fashion. 'He was just so…'

'Snobby? Rude? Full of himself?' Mr Evans suggested and kissed his wife's forehead.

'It's just like with Pet.' she whispered. 'Only Vernon's lovely to her even if he's vile to everyone else.'

'Lottie…' he murmured into her head. 'Lily's still 17. She's got a bit to go before getting married. Just because she's with Edward now doesn't mean she will be forever.'

'Yes but-'

'Sssh.' He hugged his wife closer. 'Everything'll work out. Everything'll be okay…'

* * *

Kings Cross Station was crowded and noisy as the Evans family manoeuvred their way through the bustling commuters accompanied by the rattling of the trolley containing Lily's trunk and the random mews which issued out of little Nigel's mouth. September 1st was a Thursday, meaning the working week was definitely still in session, and at 10.45 am was filled with tourists and businessmen and businesswomen. When they arrived at the barrier between platforms 9 and 10, it took them a few moments to recover before they all held onto Lily's trolley and waited for a break in lost looking tourists. Once that break came, they all exchanged the same childlike grin and began running headlong at the solid barrier. A few seconds later, and the three of them, and Nigel, had emerged on platform 9 and ¾. A scarlet steam engine, named the Hogwarts Express, stood patiently beside the platform and families milled around exchanging emotional farewells.

'I always love how you can tell which kids belong to which family.' Mr Evans said chuckling as they wheeled the trolley towards a set of unoccupied benches. 'Like those people over there.' He pointed at a tiny-looking girl with silky blonde hair tied in two immaculate plaits. She was being hugged and kissed by a lady with the same colour hair and the same slightly pointed nose.

'They're all standing with their families, William.' Mrs Evans pointed out exasperatedly. 'It's not exactly hard to tell who their parents are.'

'Oh, Lottie.' Her husband looped his arm around her affectionately and Lily smiled at the sight of her parents' exchange. She was glad that even after almost 20 years of marriage (and being a couple for longer than that) that they still looked at each other the same way they did in all their wedding photographs.

A gust of steam bust out of the train's funnel and Lily's eyes began searching the platform for a sign of Marlene. She found her best friend quite easily, Marlene was chasing after her younger brother, and felt her smile widen. Deciding she should go over so that the two of them could find a compartment together, she adjusted her trolley and then, followed by her parents, made her way towards where her best friend's family were. Mr and Mrs McKinnon, who knew Lily and her parents very well, waved at them as they arrived and the adults began chatting as Lily attempted to get the attention of Marlene.

'Mat, I will kill you!' she was shouting after her brother as she jogged in his wake. It transpired that Marlene's younger brother had her purse and was refusing to give it back. The two McKinnon children, although they argued a lot, were extremely close. Marlene's brother was called Matthew and he was in third year. She was fiercely protective of him which had resulted in quite a few detentions over the years.

Eventually, Matthew was forced to return the purse by a steely-eyed Mrs McKinnon and then he did his farewells before strolling off to find his friends. Lily and Marlene also said their goodbyes and headed off, with their luggage in hand, to find an empty compartment. They heaved their luggage onto the train easily enough but the difficulty came when they began trying to hoist their trunks up onto the luggage racks, once they'd found a compartment. Marlene was lifting her trunk determinately as Lily tugged hopelessly on her own. Then a pair of strong arms took hold of her trunk and lifted easily into the luggage rack. She looked to see who had helped her and found herself in the company of a smirking James Potter. Lily mumbled her thanks and shifted uncomfortably but was spared any further discomfort as Marlene came to her rescue.

'Oi, Potter,' she snapped, 'quit staring and give us a hand.' James obliged and helped Marlene with her trunk. 'Thanks.'

'Any time, ladies.' He bowed slightly and Lily looked at the floor.

'Now fuck off.' Marlene was clearly unfazed by his visit and when he didn't respond to her command immediately, she chivvied him out of the compartment. Once the two girls were alone again, Marlene turned to Lily. 'What that fuck was that?'

'What d'you mean?' Lily asked, confused.

'You and Potter's interaction.' Lily was silent for a moment.

'I told him about my grandad.' she responded quietly. Marlene stared at her best friend.

'Y-you told him about your grandad… Bloody hell, Lil.' She let out a low whistle. Lily never spoke about her grandad if she could help it despite claiming her mourning for him was over; she was extremely private when it came to the topic of her deceased grandparent. Marlene knew all about Lily's grandad of course, she was one of Lily's best friends after all, as did Remus but to tell someone she hardly spoke to about him was most unusual.

'I'd better go.' Lily said after a long silence. 'I've got to be at the Prefect compartment soon.' Marlene nodded and let out Nigel from his cage, who leapt into her lap as soon as she plonked herself down on a seat.

'See you later!' Lily waved a slightly mournful goodbye and trudged out of the compartment and into the corridor.

The Prefects' compartment was a little way down the train but she reached it with ample time to spare. It was empty as she entered and she was able to sit down while she waited for the Head boy to appear. An envelope addressed to the _Head boy and girl_ lay on a small fold out table but Lily didn't reach for it. She would wait until her fellow Head arrived.

While she waited, Lily wondered who the Head boy might be. They weren't Remus or Edward, she knew that much, but out of the other candidates she wasn't sure. The train began to move, just as the compartment door slid open and Lily looked up to see a handsome, bespectacled boy standing in the threshold with a Head boy badge pinned in place. Upon seeing it, Lily realised she should have put hers on and fished around in her handbag for it, making the most of this activity so as to avoid looking at her companion. Unfortunately, she found her badge quickly and had soon attached it to her pale blue, knitted, jumper, meaning she had to look at the Head boy.

'Surprise, Evans!' James cried as he seated himself beside her. Lily watched him warily, not trusting herself to speak because the last time she had spoken to him alone she had told him about something extremely personal despite the fact that she barely interacted with him in usual circumstances. Her silence seemed, to James at least, to indicate she was disappointed at his appointment as Head boy. 'So, we'll be working together _all_ year!'

'Congratulations.' Lily smiled slightly at him but it was a cautious smile. She was glad he was so cheerful because, of course, he had lost both his parents only a few weeks ago. It appeared that staying with Sirius had been exactly what he needed.

'I think I wasn't the only one lying last time we spoke.' he said conversationally. Lily wasn't sure how to respond so she said nothing. 'You said you didn't know who the Head girl was and I said I didn't know who the Head boy was.'

'Oh.' She directed her eyes towards the envelope and pulled it towards the two of them. 'I think this has our instructions. Would you like to do the honours?' Lily held it out to James, who chuckled slightly and opened it. Inside was a piece of parchment, which they unfolded, reading a message from the Deputy Headmistress (and their Head of House).

 _Dear Mr Potter and Miss Evans,_

 _Congratulations once more on your appointment as Head boy and girl. This year you will be expected to lead the Prefects, organise and participate in patrols of the school, choose 4 Hogsmeade visits and help organise whole school events (such as the Halloween Feast) as well as setting an example to your fellow students and any visitors to the school. Your first task, however, is to inform the Prefects of their duties (such as supervising detentions). The policies on point deduction and detention giving stand as thus:_

 _Prefects – May give detentions* of a maximum 1 hour per detention and must keep a record of every detention they issue (to be reviewed by the Head boy and girl once a month). They do not possess the power to deduct points from other students._

 _Pupil Librarians – May deduct points from students for misbehaviour in the school library and for vandalising books belonging to the school. They may not hand out detentions._

 _Quidditch Captains – May deduct points from students for being on the Quidditch Pitch without permission and for vandalising Quidditch equipment belonging to the school (as well as vandalising the Quidditch Pitch). They may set detentions* but such power is delegated by their specific Head of House._

 _Head boy and girl – May deduct points and issue detentions* (to be reviewed by the Deputy Headmistress once a term)._

 _*All detentions set are supervised by a Prefect – a specific schedule for detention duty must be set._

 _All Prefects, Quidditch Captains and Heads have access to the Prefects' Bathroom. The password is decided by the Head boy and girl and can be changed whenever they wish, although it is also their duty to inform those with the privilege of the change._

 _Any Prefects abusing their power may have their name submitted to the Deputy Headmistress by the Head boy and/or girl to be considered for replacement._

 _Meetings with all Prefects and Heads must take place at least once a month in the Prefect common room. This room is for the Prefects and Heads to use when they wish, although only sensible behaviour is tolerated. The Head office is located through a door at the back of the Prefect common room and may have password decided on by both the Head boy and the Head girl._

 _It is the duty of the Head boy and girl to treat all Prefects and other students in a non-bias manner and address any concerns they may have by impartial means._

 _I naturally hope that you both apply yourselves fully to the duties bestowed on you and I look forward to working with you throughout the school year._

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _Minerva McGonagall_

There was a light knock on the door of the compartment and the two of them jumped slightly, having both been absorbed in the letter before them; the Prefects had arrived.

 **Please Review :)**

 **We'll finally be arriving at Hogwarts next chapter! Who's excited?**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Has anyone else been kind of tempted to slap Edward in the face or is that just me? Anyway... We gotta get back to Hogwarts! We gotta to get back to school! Hehe...**

 **Enjoy :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Heading to Hogwarts**

* * *

It had been sunny all morning but now, as the train rattled through a wild and tangled looking forest, the sky turned an ashen grey colour. The clouds looming did not look inviting and James was glad to be inside his comfortable compartment. As the sky darkened, the lights flickered on and Peter, who was napping, groaned in his sleep. Remus was quietly reading a book by the window, his battered coat propped around his shoulders for warmth, whilst Sirius was doodling on a piece of parchment with his tongue between his teeth as he concentrated. James, on the other hand, was doing absolutely nothing. He had been sitting, for the past half an hour, staring at the floor seemingly lost in thought when in reality his mind was completely devoid of anything sans the occasional interruption of a Quidditch tactic idea.

Outside, the countryside trundled past in a blur of dark green and brown. The clouds were now a charcoal black and soon enough a clap of thunder resounded across the sky. Peter did not stir but James turned his focus to the view outside as a flash of lightning eagerly responded to its counterpart. Rain drops began to speckle the window and before long the droplets formed great torrents of water which threw themselves at the compartment's windowpanes. Despite the gloomy nature of the storm raging through the fields and forest they passed, James found there was something orphic about the scenes which whizzed across his vision; the isolated stone cottages way up in the hills, the lone walkers, the livestock still grazing and the barns with one light on inside were all so intriguing to him regardless of the fact how mundane others would view them.

Lily too looked out at the countryside from her seat in her compartment. Nigel was curled up on her feet as she hugged her knees into her chest and leaned against the wall. Marlene was sprawled across the whole of the other bench, snoring gently, with a copy of _Quidditch Cognizance_ clutched in her hand dangling a centimetre off the floor. Minutes ticked by as Lily watched the landscape whizz past and the magazine slid slowly out of Marlene's closed fist. It fell open on a page of male Quidditch players, all with fashionably styled black hair. Lily glanced at it and noted that all the pictures had crosses drawn on them and across the top of the page was scrawled some words in Marlene's untidy script that had something to do with Sirius Black, though Lily couldn't read the rest from where she was sat.

The compartment door slid open and she turned to see Sirius and James in the threshold.

'Ooops!' Lily exclaimed loudly and jumped off her seat, Nigel mewed indignantly, making her way towards the magazine. 'I must've dropped this.' She hastily picked it up and then straightened up awkwardly.

'Quidditch Cognizance, Evans?' James asked with a smirk spreading across his features. Lily glanced down at the magazine she was holding as Sirius guffawed.

'Um… Yes!' She nodded earnestly. 'I thought learning about Quidditch would be a good idea after 6 years of watching matches without knowing what's going on.'

'Oh, shit.' Sirius groaned dramatically. 'Quidditch was the one thing Evans didn't know about.'

'Shame the same can't be said for your fucking brain.' Marlene, it transpired, had woken up.

'What was that, McKinnon?' Sirius cupped a hand to his ear. 'Sorry I didn't hear you over the sound of the 8 NEWT subjects I'm taking.'

'You're just proving my point.' she muttered, gesturing to the whole of him as she stood up. Both Lily and James were watching the interaction carefully, though one's expression was wary and the other amused.

'What d'you mean?' he asked, raising an eyebrow and ruffling his black hair in a casual manner. As he did so, Lily face fell into one of dawning comprehension which soon caused her lips to twitch upwards ever so slightly in an omniscient smile. James, who had glanced at her, noted this, though he had no idea what notion had occurred to her.

'We take the same subjects, you twat! You're in all my classes!' Marlene snapped in response and shifted her feet irritably.

'No!' Sirius gasped loudly and whacked his forehead. 'You mean to tell me, that that hag sitting in front of me in all my lessons was you all along! Shut the fuck up!' He smirked in satisfaction as Marlene let out a quiet but deadly snarl.

'At least every time I look in the mirror it doesn't fucking crack!' she spat and Sirius lost his cool demeanour a little as miniscule droplets of saliva speckled his face. James coughed loudly, although is most certainly resembled a snort, and Lily thumped him on the back as her lips moved further upwards.

'Oh, you'd know all about cracking mirrors, wouldn't you?' Sirius retorted, narrowing his handsome grey eyes.

'Yeah, that's right.' Marlene hissed, curling her fists. Lily's smile vanished and her apprehensive expression made a second appearance. 'Someone's got to clear up after you.'

'So, Evans,' James began loudly, slicing through the argument beside him. 'What's on the page you folded down?'

'Um… Well…' Lily peaked at the page and saw it was the one she had attempted to hide in the first place. 'It's a page on… um… dark-haired Quidditch players… You know they're all really…' She opened the magazine slightly so that her eyes fell on the sentence scrawled by Marlene. _Sirius Black is a -_ 'fu-fit. Yeah, really fit.'

'Fit, huh?' James winked at her. 'Got a thing for dark-haired Quidditch players, Evans?'

'Potter, how dare you ask such a thing of my girlfriend!' Edward thundered from the entrance of the compartment. Everyone in the compartment slowly turned to face him with a monotone expression, except Lily, who smiled absently.

'EDDIE!' exclaimed Sirius, who then bounded towards Lily's boyfriend and wrapped an arm tightly around one of his shoulders. Edward's face reddened with rage. 'How are you? I haven't seen you in ages!'

'Get off me.' Edward fumed, with as much dignity as he could muster considering Sirius had just pinched his cheek.

'Oh, sorry, Eddie.' Sirius removed his arm from around Edward but then ruffled his hair. 'I've missed you, big guy!' Marlene looked torn between laughing or looking cross (for Lily's sake) but Lily had turned her gaze back to the window and therefore couldn't see anyone's expression.

'We never got a chance to chat at the party.' James announced, thumping an indignant Edward on the shoulder. 'Good summer? Have fun with your one and only?' He nudged his arm roguishly and Edward pulled it away as though branded.

'Piss off, Potter!' he snarled and strode over to Lily, putting his arms around her in a slightly possessive manner; she jumped, startled.

'That's not very nice.' Sirius said in mock hurt. James' face, however, had become scarily blank as he looked at the couple in front of him.

'Come on, Pads. Let's go.' He grabbed Sirius by the arm and dragged him out of the compartment.

'What were they doing here?' Edward asked suspiciously once the compartment door had closed. He sat down, pulling Lily onto his lap as he did so.

'Well, if you hadn't told Potter and fuck face to piss off then maybe they'd have fucking said.'

'Potter was flirting with Petal, who, incidentally, is my girlfriend. I was quite justified in making them leave.'

Lily focused on the floor as her best friend began muttering insults under her breath as she fumbled in her trunk for something. While she watched the extremely interesting pattern of the slightly grubby purple carpet, her face returned to its knowing smile. The conversation that had taken place just before Edward had arrived had, for Lily at least, thrown an interesting light on the relationship between two certain individuals. Perhaps she ought to have realised sooner, she thought, but then again, the two might have been just as blind to it as she had been before today. Of her own accord, Lily opened _Quidditch Cognizance_ to the page Marlene had written on, making sure Edward couldn't see the page; she needn't have worried about her boyfriend for he was too busy plaiting, though knotting was a more adequate description, her hair.

'We'd better change.' Marlene announced, turning around, and Lily hastily shut the magazine.

'Ed… could you leave while we get changed?' Lily asked tentatively.

'Petal, I've seen you in your underwear plenty of times.' he purred as Lily got off his lap.

'Not me you haven't.' Marlene snapped at him. 'And I don't plan on fucking changing that either.'

'I'll meet you at the carriages then.' Edward huffed and Lily squeezed his hand guiltily.

'I've got to stay behind and make sure everyone's off the train – Head girl duty.' she responded.

'You're leaving me?' Marlene wailed dramatically.

'You two can help if you want.' Lily suggested. They both nodded and then Edward left the compartment. As soon as he was gone, and the compartment blinds were all down, Marlene turned to Lily.

'Talk about possessive.' she said as she pulled off her mustard yellow top, replacing it with a white school blouse which she began buttoning up. ' _How dare you ask such a thing of my girlfriend?_ ' Marlene pulled a face as she did an excellent impression of Edward's posh, and slightly snobbish, voice.

'Potter was only teasing me.' Lily said as she changed into her school uniform. 'Besides, if I hadn't been holding _your_ magazine we'd never've got to that subject.' Marlene snorted.

'Thanks, Lil.' she responded with a grin and only just caught the magazine which Lily had thrown in mock anger at her face.

'Any time.' They finished changing and as Marlene set about checking her makeup, Lily stroked Nigel. The kitten had grown a little during the summer but he was still extremely small. With every stroke, Nigel purred affectionately and Lily smiled contentedly.

* * *

The train pulled into Hogsmeade station and all along it students piled out of compartments. They poured onto the platform hurling greetings at their peers as they made their way towards the carriages. Hagrid, the Hogwarts gamekeeper, called for the first years to follow him, which they did in terrified clumps of small 11-year-olds. The Head boy and girl, alongside their friends, stayed behind and once the tidal wave of students had disappeared began conducting a search of the train to make sure everyone had left. The Marauders split into two pairs and Lily, Marlene and Edward went as a three to the furthest end of the train. As the searched the compartments, Edward complained about James. Marlene paid absolutely no attention to what he was saying and although Lily tried she couldn't bring her mind to focus on anything but a few of the words uttering from her boyfriend's mouth.

'Despicable…Never met anyone more arrogant…So full of himself…Absolutely no talent…Show off…Egotistical…Thinks he's so hilarious…' The insults went on and on, often becoming cyclical in their meanings, and to Lily's surprise she found herself grow irritated by his relentless comments.

'I think someone's bitter.' Marlene muttered to Lily. 'Potter getting Head boy may turn out to be a blessing in disguise.'

'Never serious…Always messes around…Constant and blatant disregard for rules…'

Eventually, the three of them finished searching their designated half of the train and after sending a pair of 5th years, who had been fast asleep in their compartment, off to the school, they made their own way back. The early September breeze made the leaves in the trees rustle quietly and if one looked up, the stars in the clear night sky sparkled in greeting now that the storm had finished. A waning gibbous moon hung just above the tips of the trees and watched the world below, radiating a blueish white light that illuminated the way up to the Hogwarts castle. As the three 17-year-olds walked, their shadows fell behind them. One shadow was broad-shouldered, another was curvaceous and the third person of just about average height. As they reached the large, imposing oak front doors, which were wide open allowing for the sound of students laughing in the Great Hall to drift towards them, Edward pulled Lily to a halt.

'Ed?'

'Petal, you may be Head girl and Potter Head boy but I don't want you spending time with him.' Lily opened her mouth to say something and Marlene turned around looking livid. Neither of them said anything however, as Edward continued. 'If you do have to spend time with him, let me know and I will accompany you.'

' _You're not going to – I won't let you -'_

'What the fuck d'you think Lil'll do with him?' Marlene asked murderously.

' _L_ e _t me? L_ e _t me?'_

'I just don't want her alone with him.' Edward replied, strangely resembling a puffed-up pufferfish. 'He is a no good, lousy, untrustworthy, philandering -'

' _I know James Potter's an arrogant toerag,'_

'Potter isn't that bad you know.' Lily said quietly, fiddling with her necklace. Her boyfriend looked as though he'd swallowed a vat full of decaying teeth that were now poking out of every inch of him.

'Petal-'

'Leave her alone, Edward.' growled Marlene.

'You know, Petal, I seem to remember telling you, you weren't allowed to be friends with Marlene anymore!'

' _I don't understand how you can be friends with them.'_

The necklace Edward had given Lily, snapped and the sound of the metal breaking echoed around the silent grounds. Before Lily knew what she was doing, her wand was out and she was firing an 'Entomorphis' hex at her boyfriend. There was a gigantic flash of light and an almighty bang before Edward McClaggen lay on the floor as half insect and half human. His human half had tentacles growing out of it and every so often, one of the tentacles would wiggle pathetically.

'I…' Lily looked at what she had done with a mixture of horror and pride, glancing at Marlene, who also had her wand out. It seemed they had both fired hexes at Edward. 'What've we done?'

'Girls!' a voice shouted from inside the Entrance Hall. Both Marlene and Lily jumped slightly and then turned their gaze in the direction of the speaker. Professor McGonagall, their Head of House and Deputy Headmistress, strode towards them, her eyes flashing angrily. Lily gulped and bowed her head guiltily as she reached them. 'How dare you attack a student?'

'Professor-'

'Be quiet, Miss McKinnon! Both of you, my office. Now!' The two girls followed their thunderous teacher, who began levitating Edward in front of her, in complete and utter silence. She moved through corridor after corridor with Lily and Marlene scurrying miserably after her. In little to no time at all, they reached the Hospital Wing, where Professor McGonagall exchanged a brief word with the school matron and left her with Edward before she signalled for the girls to come with her and they continued veering through the twists and turns of the castle. They arrived outside Professor McGonagall's office and walked inside. The Professor seated herself behind her desk and observed the girls, who stood nervously in front of her, in stony fashion. 'Explain.'

'Well, Edward was telling me I couldn't be alone around James Potter,' Lily began. She searched Professor McGonagall's face for any sign of emotion but found nothing.

'And then I got annoyed at Edward and he then went on about Lily not being allowed to be mates with me anymore. That's when we-'

'Hexed him, Professor. I'm not sure why but I was just so angry all of a sudden. We're really sorry… It won't happen again…'

'Both of you have broken school rules and as 7th years, in particular you, Miss Evans, I expected better.' Professor McGonagall paused and her lips became an exceedingly thin line. 'As for punishment-'

'Professor, when we hexed Edward, term hadn't started, so – so Gryffindor shouldn't really have points taken from it, should it?' Lily asked timidly and for a moment she wondered if Professor McGonagall smiled. If she had, then that smile had been extremely brief for a second later her mouth was back to its thin line.

'That is true, Miss Evans, so you two will not lose points for Gryffindor. However, a punishment for disregarding school rules is still in order.' She shuffled through a stack of papers and then pulled one out with a satisfied expression. 'The school magazine has been interested, for quite some time actually, in adding an Agony Aunt page. Despite the enthusiasm for the idea, no one has put themselves forward as a candidate. I think you two will be perfect for the role and you will keep this position for the entirety of the school year. For the first few additions you will have to invent your own problem letters but hopefully over time, students will begin to write in. You will hand your page into me so I can check it and I expect one completed page every two weeks. Missing deadlines or producing mediocre quality will result in point deductions – you should apply yourselves to the role fully.'

'Yes, Professor.' both girls said and nodded.

'Very well, we may head to the Great Hall.' They followed Professor McGonagall obediently and soon were entering the Great Hall. Students had started eating and talk bubbled like a witch's cauldron but all this halted as the three of them walked in. Professor McGonagall strode to the staff table and the girls made their way to the only two available seats which, to Marlene's disgust, were next to the Marauders. She sat down, extremely reluctantly, next to Sirius and Lily next to James so that they were opposite each other. Talk slowly returned and although the Marauders said nothing about their late entrance, returning to their own conversation, they shot curious glances at the two girls.

Marlene helped herself to a beef olive and Lily ladled some soup into her bowl; she wasn't paying much attention to her food and so slopped some of the soup onto her robes. Hastily, she cleaned her robes with her wand and began to eat silently. While she ate, she looked at the broken necklace still clasped in her hand. The untarnished silver twinkled innocently, reflecting the enchanted ceiling above. She put down the spoon she'd been using to bring soup to her mouth and began moving the metal chain around her fingers in a labyrinthine pattern.

'You can fix it, you know.' James told her, making her start and look around at him.

'I prefer it broken.' she mumbled and James laughed loudly.

'How are you going to wear it around McClaggen if it's broken?'

'I suppose giving it back broken would be rude.' Lily mused and deep down inside of her, something fluttered hopefully. It was as though something that had been suffocating her for an exceedingly long time was trickling away in a steady stream.

'Right…' James looked confused but Lily didn't explain herself. Her face simply erupted into a wide smile of relief and leaving James even more baffled, turned back to her soup, eating with more gusto as her realisation sunk in.

She was free.

 **Please Review :)**

 **Who's happy that good old Eddie was hexed? I am. It was satisfying to write and I wanted to leap into the story and high five Lily and Marlene. Is that weird? Probably.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Alliteration in the chapter name - it's a good writing day. I'm excited for the first day of school (in this fictional context only as I lost the enthusiasm for school years ago)! Are you? Do/did you guys enjoy school?**

* * *

 **Chapter 8: The First Day of Freedom**

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Lily awoke on Friday the 2nd of September with her insides buzzing with excitement. It was early but she had too much adrenalin flowing through her to go back to sleep so she slid out of bed and grabbed her washbag and school uniform. Making sure not to wake the other girls in her dormitory, she crept out of the room and down the girls' staircase into the Gryffindor common room. Seeing as she had time to waste, Lily decided she might as well use the Prefects' Bathroom and began making her way there with a slight spring in her step. She hummed as she walked through the corridors of Hogwarts and smiled at all the portraits she passed. When she reached the door with a gold embossed handle, she leaned close to it and whispered the password _Efflorescence_ ; the door opened and she entered the large room built of impressive white marble with a lavish golden chandelier, which cast a soft, warm glow over everything. In the centre of the bathroom was a vast, rectangular swimming pool encased by over one hundred jewel incrusted golden taps. At the corner of the room was an exquisite gold cabinet, with engravings of the four Founders on the sides of it, filled with fluffy white towels. Lily picked two of these up and then made her way to the other side of the room which was lined with pearly white doors. She pushed one open and stepped into a tiled room with a wooden bench and a full-length gold framed mirror. Clicking the lock of the door behind her shut, Lily deposited her towels and school uniform on the bench before undressing and heading, with her washbag, through an archway to the side of the bench and into a shower room.

It didn't take too long for Lily to wash her hair and body, so 30 minutes later and she was using the cloud-like towels to dry herself. Wrapped in a towel and with her hair in a turban, she unlocked the door and stepped out into the main bathroom for a moment to allow herself a break from the heat of the cubicle. It became apparent, extremely quickly, that she was not alone for only a metres away stood James, whose smirk was widening at an alarming rate. Although Lily's cheeks flushed a little pink, she was far too elated that morning to care too much.

'Mooorning.' James greeted and ran a hand through his hair. 'Looking ravishing today, Evans.'

'Morning.' she answered brightly. Her tone seemed to surprise him but Lily smiled at him, which reassured James that she wasn't counterfeiting her attitude.

'Well, I'd better go and have my shower.' Lily nodded and turned back towards her cubicle. 'You're welcome to join me, Evans.' James winked as he past and Lily shook her head in amusement before closing her door behind her. Once back in the safety of the cubicle, Lily changed into her uniform and dried her hair with a flick of her wand. She then proceeded to use the large mirror to do her makeup and tie her hair in a slightly messy bun.

20 minutes later and Lily made her way back to Gryffindor Tower to deposit her things before going down to breakfast. All the occupants of her dormitory were still fast asleep, including Nigel, and Lily was cautious to keep it that way. The 7th years girls' dormitory contained 7 girls in total: Lily Evans, Marlene McKinnon, Mary MacDonald, Alice Prewett, Dorcas Meadows, Emmeline Vance and Hestia Jones. All of them got on though they split into separate friendship groups. Lily and Marlene were of course best friends, which left 5 others. Hestia was best friends with Mary and Emmeline whilst Alice and Dorcas made a quartet with two of the Hufflepuff girls in their year: Amelia Bones and Julia Abbott. Despite different friendship groups, six years of sharing a dormitory meant they all knew each other quite well.

Lily didn't dawdle in the dormitory for long, however, and made her way to the Great Hall and, more importantly, towards breakfast. Her good mood still in place, Lily skipped through the corridors and to a seat at the Gryffindor table once in the Hall. For breakfast, she decided on some shredded wheat and milk in a bowl, it was the closest thing to her beloved Weetabix the Wizarding world could offer, and ate it enthusiastically. Her internal contentment was tested, however, when she looked up the table and saw Edward, now completely human again, eating a piece of toast in an extremely irritated manner. She currently still had his necklace, now fully repaired, sitting in the bottom drawer of her bedside cabinet but wasn't exactly sure if she was supposed to give it back to him or not. Lily would have asked Marlene or Remus whether she should return it but, of course, they were both still in their respective dormitories. She focused her attention back on her breakfast, deciding she would deal with that problem later.

Meanwhile, in the 7th year Gryffindor boys' dormitory, James had returned from the Prefects' Bathroom in high spirits that could rival Lily's. His ludic expression did not go unnoticed by his roommates, despite their tired, bleary-eyed faces.

'What are you so fucking happy about?' Sirius grumbled as he attempted to pull a sock over his head.

'Nothing.' James answered smirking and skipped towards his four-poster bed.

'Prongs, you're not fooling anyone.' Remus pointed out and straightened his tie as he stood in front a large mirror.

'You might as well say something, mate.' Frank Longbottom said, heading into the bathroom as Kingsley Shacklebolt left it.

'What've I missed?' Kingsley asked curiously. James lay back on his bed, staring dreamily at the canopy of his four-poster with a smirk still firmly in place. He let out a loud giggle and Peter prodded him with a bar of chocolate, which he made a grab for.

'Well…he's…not…pissed!' Peter gasped as he and James began wrestling for the chocolate.

'Evans spoke to me.' he announced dreamily.

'Congrats, Prongsie.' Sirius teased and finally realised he'd been attempting to put a sock on his head. 'She's never done that before.'

'She was in a towel, Pads! And still happy to see me!' Peter took the opportunity of James' distraction to reclaim his chocolate.

'McClaggen won't be happy about that.' Remus said quietly.

'Way to be a killjoy, Moony.' Sirius groaned and stood up, fully dressed. He moved over to mirror and elbowed Remus out of the way so that he could begin arranging his hair. This exercise usually took 5 minutes or so, so Remus simply turned away and sat down next to James.

'We still have a year left here.' Kingsley said in his deep calming voice. The boys of the 7th year dormitory had all known each other since first year and all of them were good friends. Of course, the Marauders were their own gang and Kingsley and Frank were best friends but they still hung out together quite regularly. The only one of the Gryffindor boys who didn't get along with the rest was Edward and so he was the only one never included in morning discussions.

'See, Moony.' James said, indicating Kingsley. 'Positivity.' The room fell silent as all the boys focused on getting ready. James sat up and opened his bedside drawer. Inside was a picture frame containing a photograph of two beaming adults holding a dark-haired toddler; his eyes saddened momentarily before he picked up his wand, which lay beside it, and slammed the drawer shut. While he waited for his friends to finish getting ready, he twirled his wand in his fingers and forced his mind far away his bedside drawer, making it focus on a certain red-haired female. Her smile from this morning flickered into his mind and James felt his elated mood from earlier return.

'Is it just me, or is Padfoot putting more effort into his hair than usual?' Peter asked as Frank left the bathroom and headed over to his bed, where his wand lay. Once he had his wand, he and Kingsley waved the Marauders goodbye and went in the direction of the Great Hall. James, Remus and Peter all tilted their heads in the same identical manner and watched Sirius move individual strands of hair into specific positions.

'It's the first day back, Wormy.' Sirius replied, turning around with his arms out wide. 'Go hard or go home.'

'Sure, sure.' James grinned and ruffled his own hair before springing up from the bed and clapping his hands. 'Breakfast, lads!'

'Finally!' Peter cried, leading the way out of the dormitory and down to the Great Hall. By the time they arrived, Lily had finished her breakfast and was now chatting merrily to Marlene, who by the looks of things had just sat down. Edward was seated at the other end of the table, drinking his pumpkin juice moodily and glowering down the table at the two witches, though mainly at Marlene.

'Strange…' James mused aloud. 'Evans isn't sitting with McClaggen.'

'Pleeease don't ask her about it.' Remus implored as they approached the two girls and he caught sight of James' smirk.

'Ladies,' Sirius greeted smoothly and winked at them. Marlene's face instantly became sour but James noticed Lily's face had turned amused as she looked between the Sirius and Marlene. 'Lovely morning, isn't it?'

'What d'you want, Black?' Marlene questioned suspicious and in a tone suggesting her insides contained an entire hornet's nest.

'Oh, I can think of plenty of things…' he purred, sliding into the seat beside her only to be pushed so roughly away he fell off the bench. James and Peter laughed loudly, sitting down also, and Remus sent an apologetic look towards the two girls as he sat down. James had chosen to sit next to Lily whilst Peter and Remus sat opposite the other four; he used this seating arrangement to talk to Lily while Sirius and Marlene engaged in their usual war of words.

'So, Evans, we need to organise the patrol schedule.' James said, in an attempt in engage Lily in conversation.

'Yes, d'you want to meet up after lessons to do it?' she suggested and smiled at James. As she did so, there was a loud clatter from up the table and they both glanced in the sound's direction to see a livid looking Edward, who had spilled his pumpkin juice over his breakfast. 'Today, afterschool?'

'Sure.' If James had hoped Lily would enlighten him as to Edward's behaviour, his was disappointed for she changed topic completely.

'Are you looking forward to the Quidditch season?' she asked. James frowned slightly; Lily wasn't exactly what one would call a Quidditch fan and this would have been the second time in two days that she either spoke or read about it voluntarily.

'Obviously.' James replied, to humour her. 'Gryffindor are going to smash everyone!'

'I'm sure they will.' Lily chuckled quietly as Professor McGonagall began handing out timetables. She reached them first, being at the end of the table nearest the staff table, and tapped two pieces of card to reveal a pair of completed timetables. She handed them to Lily and James, who both looked to see what they had first. They had Arithmancy and because Lily knew neither Remus or Marlene took the subject, she got up and went over to Dorcas, Alice, Amelia and Julia, who were all in her class.

'Hey, Lily.' Alice greeted and the five of them began making their way to the Arithmancy classroom.

'Good summer?' Lily asked Alice as they walked.

'Not bad.' She let out a loud giggle as Frank walked past with Kingsley and James. All three boys looked around and Lily smiled absently as her companion turned a slightly terrifying shade of pink. Dorcas, Amelia and Julia began laughing hysterically as Alice burst into another flood of the giggles. The girls clutched each other for support while they waited outside their classroom and Lily stood beside them, smiling to herself though not laughing and when she caught sight of a sour-faced Gryffindor with pumpkin juice stains on their uniform, her face fell and she focused her gaze on the classroom door.

Luckily, Professor Everhart, the Arithmancy teacher, opened the classroom door at that moment and the class filed in. During Lily's previous years studying Arithmancy, she had sat beside Edward but somehow something told her that this year that would not be such a good idea. The girls she'd walked with had all taken their usual seats, a row of four, and so Lily was alone. She looked around the classroom. Everyone in the class sat were they had since their first lesson, including Edward, who sat in his usual seat one away from the window. The seat beside him did not look inviting but Lily resigned herself to the worst until she spotted a free seat on her way over. Backtracking, she moved swiftly to the row of four at the back which had only three occupants: Kingsley, Frank and James.

'Um…' Lily cleared her throat uncomfortably and James looked around at her in surprise. 'Is anyone sitting here?' she asked, glancing at James' parchment, quills and textbook, which he had spread across the entirety of the desk.

'Oh… No.' James hastily moved his things to his half of the desk and Lily sat down gratefully before unpacking her own stationery and textbook. 'Not sitting with McClaggen then?'

'No.' She did not elaborate and as Professor Everhart began speaking Edward shot James a death glare, to which he responded with a handsome smirk.

* * *

The first day back was, all in all, slightly chaotic. Most of the first-year students ran around the school utterly lost and begging older students to point them in the right direction. But in the tradition of any student past the age of 12, pointing first years in the wrong direction was the only acceptable thing to do, which was why Lily made sure she always walked with someone around the castle during the first few days of term so as to avoid having to tell a first year to go the opposite way to their class. Marlene revelled in the opportunity to confuse younger students, with the exception of when her brother had been a first year, and enjoyed nothing more than sending a bunch of small students on a wild goose chase.

But the first years were not the only causes of chaos; someone had hexed James Potter during his second period Potions lesson as he'd been asking Lily for help with his Amortentia potion and as the hex hit him large bats began to fly out of his nose. The 7th year class had been thrown into absolute mayhem as black bats darted all over the dungeon, screeching in distress, and wreaking havoc as some got caught in the shelf of spare ingredients. The class of 17-year-olds had all taken cover underneath their desks as Professor Slughorn, their teacher, and the Head boy and girl had attempted to catch the bats. This was made considerably more difficult due to the fact that both Marlene and Sirius had bewitched some of the bats to tap dance out of reach, though they stopped almost instantly upon realising that they were both doing the same misdemeanant activity and promptly began an argument about whose idea it had been.

All in all, the students of Hogwarts were glad that lessons had come to an end for the day and at dinner the general talk was slightly subdued as most were too tired to talk energetically. While Lily ate and did her Arithmancy homework, Marlene snored beside her, her head drooping into her steak and kidney pie. The Marauders were a little way up the table laughing at James whilst Edward glowered at him and stabbed his steak angrily. Lily's good mood had ebbed away slightly and she realised that she needed to talk to Edward regardless of whether she wanted to or not. With a small sigh, she finished her homework and swapped it for a small piece of parchment from her bag. On this she scribbled a note.

 _Can we talk? – Lily_

She then prodded the paper with her wand and it disintegrated, reappearing on Edward's lap. He glanced down at the note and then caught Lily's eye. A curt nod later and Lily nudged Marlene awake, saying she was meeting up with someone. Her best friend murmured a sleepy response before dozing off once more and Lily took it as her cue to leave. On her way past the Marauders, she tapped James on the shoulder and he turned to face her, glad for a break from his sniggering friends.

'Evans!' he cried, delightedly. 'What can I do for you?'

'Are you free at 7 to do the patrol schedule?'

'It's a date.' James winked at her roguishly. 'Head office, I take it?'

'See you there.' She smiled and waved a little as she made her way out of the Great Hall. Edward followed her silently and they made their way to an empty classroom. Once inside, Lily closed the door and seated herself on a desk. She did not look at Edward, who was standing opposite her, rather she focused her gaze on the wooden floorboards. 'I'm sorry.' she said quietly, still looking at the parquet flooring. 'I shouldn't have hexed you but-'

Edward cut off her sentence by pressing his lips to hers. His mouth moved furiously, desperately but Lily did not respond and after a few seconds gently, but forcefully, she pushed him off her.

'I think it's best if we end things, Ed…' Lily whispered.

'Petal, it's just a rough patch – all couples have them – we'll get through it.' He tried to kiss her again but she held him back.

'But it's not just a rough patch, Ed. I tried to turn you into a cockroach – that's not just a minor incident. You expect me be someone I'm not and perhaps your side of this relationship is easy but there's only so many times you can try and control me without me protesting. Marlene's my best friend and you expect me to give her up to further your career. I can't just…' Lily fiddled with her skirt and stopped holding back Edward as he slumped back onto a desk.

'So, this is it? You're dumping me?' He stared at his hands in shock. 'I've never been dumped before...'

'I'm sorry.' she said, though her voice was slightly cold. Lily stood up and moved back towards the classroom door. It was 6.45 pm. 'It's for the best...' She left him, not sure if she felt more or less guilty than she had when she hexed him, and headed in the direction of the Prefect common room. When she reached it, she was greeted by a few of the Slytherin and Ravenclaw Prefects, who were either playing or watching a rather wild game of Wizard chess. She smiled back at them and then went over to the door that lead to the Head office. Lily tried to open the door but it refused to budge. It dawned on her that James must have decided the password by himself so she knocked instead, hoping he was already there. He was.

'Password?' he asked smugly, opening the door so that only one of his eyes was just about visible in the gap between door and wall. Even with only one of his eyes to be seen, Lily could sense his smirk.

'I'm not sure…'

'Wrong, Evans! Guess again!' Lily looked at James' eye uncertainly and paused, thinking.

'Can I have a clue?' she asked, deciding she might as well play along. He was her fellow Head after all and to be a good Head girl she had to get on with him.

'A clue?' The door opened a wider so that the whole of James was on display. 'Let's see…' He mimed being deep in thought for a moment. 'The answer to this question is the password.'

'Okay…'

'What, exactly, is going on between you and McClaggen?' James fixed Lily with a strange look that made her feel as though she was completely transparent.

'Is there a wrong answer?' she questioned, tilting her head to the side as she studied his face.

'It depends what your response is.' He folded his arms and his smirk increased slightly. 'Why? Got something to hide, Evans?'

'We've split up.' she replied simply, looking at him with a defiant expression. Her face switched to a frown for the slightest of seconds as a look of delight danced at the back of James' eyes.

'Correct, Evans.' He bowed and allowed her entrance to the Head common room.

'That wasn't the actual password you decided on, was it?' Lily asked, a little worriedly as her eyes took in the office. It was a larger room than she had expected with a large bay window and window seat at the far end of the room. There were two desks, each with a chair behind them, pushed against each other so that if both Heads were at work, they would be able to look at each other. On the right side of the room was a fireplace and inside it a fire that crackled away merrily, casting a warm glow everywhere. The ceiling bore a small chandelier filled with candles that flickered slightly as James shut the door behind the two of them.

'Nah.' he said with a laugh. 'That would be a shit password. I just locked the door, Evans. I was going to wait for you so we could both decide.' Now the door was closed and she was in the office, Lily could see a small gold key inside the door's lock.

'Any ideas?'

'Er… What's your favourite word?'

'My favourite word?' Lily looked away in embarrassment as she felt her cheeks redden slightly. ' _Mellifluous_ …'

'Mellifluous… I like that.' He grinned at her. 'I believe, Evans, we've found our password.' The door seemed to chink in agreement and momentarily glowed white as the password was instated.

'D'you want to start on the patrol schedule then?' Lily suggested and her companion nodded. Both of them made their way to the same desk and when Lily realised this she began to change direction to the other desk but then, to her surprise, James pulled out the desk chair of the right desk and indicated for her to sit. 'Thanks.' she mumbled and took the offered seat. He strolled over to the other desk and they set to work.

 **Please Review :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Welcome back to another chapter! Thank you everyone for your lovely reviews so far; they really make my day!**

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Potions**

* * *

'We need a name.' Marlene said decisively, early on Sunday evening. The weekend after their first full day back was nearing a close and Lily sat with her best friend in the school library at a wooden table near the entrance. In front of Marlene was her Divination homework (due the next day) and both girls were surrounded by books on dream interpretation. Lily held a piece of parchment in one hand and in the other a quill; they were brainstorming ideas for their first Agony Aunt article whilst Marlene also worked on her Divination. 'You know, some sad shit like _Dear Katie_.'

' _Dear Katie_? It's a classic but not too original, I suppose.' Lily mused but scribbled down the suggestion nonetheless. 'What about… hm… _Dear Cat_? It's similar but not exactly the same.'

'With a K or a C?'

'I'm thinking with a C.' Marlene nodded in approval and Lily crossed out her previous words, replacing them with their decided name.

'Right, problems. Throw some at me.' She opened her arms as though to welcome a tirade of oncoming bullets.

'Er… I…' Lily paused. 'Scared of making new friends? Relationships? Self-confidence? Arguments? Bullying? Fashion?'

'Fashion?' Marlene scoffed. 'Fucking fashion? I'm sorry but if that's what we're going for I'll take the detentions from McGonagall now.'

'It was just a suggestion.' Lily defended. 'We should start with something easy – seeing as we have to invent the scenario.'

'I've got one more dream to interpret so once that hell's over I'll help with writing.'

'I'll make a start.' Lily answered and both of them pulled out a fresh piece of parchment from their bags and began writing. For 10 minutes or so they worked in complete silence and from across the library the sound of Madame Pince shouting at some students to leave her beloved books alone could be heard painfully well. If either of the two girls had looked up at that moment, they would have seen both James and Sirius being chased out of the library by a large number of evil looking grey feather quills. They didn't, however, and James was able to pause for a moment, undetected, to admire the face Lily pulled when she was concentrating; he paid for this dearly when several of the quills stabbed him in the back. Sirius grabbed the front of his shirt and yanked him out of the library but as he did so, his eyes caught sight of Marlene cussing at her homework and his insides gave a strange leap. Then he recovered himself and joined James sprinting all the way back to Gryffindor Tower.

The Fat Lady gave both boys, who were slightly sweaty, a suspicious look but had no choice but to let them enter the common room behind her when they gave the correct password. Gryffindor common room was abuzz with noise and people letting out end-of-the-weekend steam. There were some third years toasting crumpets in the fire whilst a bunch of sixth years were playing an extremely tense rendition of exploding snap. A group of fifth year girls were trying to see how many grapes they could fit in their mouths at once and, according to the loud squeals of one blonde haired female, one of them had thus far managed 47. Peter sat at a table next to a Wizarding Wireless, which was pelting out the latest release of a popular band the Hobgoblins, and beckoned them over. James and Sirius swaggered over and sat down around the table just as Peter began to speak.

'Did you do it?' he asked as Sirius turned his head to wink at one of the fifth year girls; the girls all giggled in delight and began crowding around the one he'd winked at – she still had 47 grapes in her mouth.

'Course we did.' James answered seeing as Sirius was too busy trying to secure a broom cupboard session. 'Pince chased us out the library though.' Peter let out a low whistle. James pulled out a heavy volume and opened it to a particularly stained page. All three of them, Sirius having blown a kiss at the girl, leaned over the book with interest. They read and took notes for almost 20 minutes before Remus arrived.

'Finished?' he asked as he sat down, putting his feet up on the chair beside him. 'I'm beat.'

'Well, you should bare that in mind before you offer to help a teacher round up Cornish Pixies.'

'Those were not Cornish Pixies!' Remus said, shaking his head and putting it in his hands. 'I've studied them before and those…things were not even remotely a pixie.'

'Ah, well.' James patted his shoulder. 'You're here now.'

'How far have you lot got?' he asked and Peter handed his parchment over to him with a dramatic flourish. Remus scanned it and raised an eyebrow at some of it. 'Please tell me you're joking about the bit where James asks out Lily.'

'That's my favourite bit!' James cried indignantly.

'A word of advice, Prongs,' Remus responded tiredly, rubbing his temples, 'Lily will not appreciate being asked out during the middle of…' he looked at the parchment and began reading off it, 'during the middle of a showering of swelling solution.'

'But I'd pull her to safety and then cure her swelling before popping the question.' James said dejectedly, resembling a small child who'd had all their sweets taken away. 'It's romantic!' he insisted and Sirius snorted whilst Peter had to turn away to hide his laughter and Remus let out a sigh of exasperation.

'She's just split up with McClaggen! Can't you wait a bit?'

'Hang on! Why d'you know about that?' James asked, suspiciously.

'Because unlike you, Prongs, Lily told me _willingly_ during breakfast yesterday.' Remus shook his head again and James looked slightly deflated.

'She did tell me willingly.'

'Prongs, you pretended her telling you that was the password in the Head office and if I know Lily she answered to avoid an argument.'

'Fine. I won't ask Lily out during the prank.' James said, darkly, reaching for the parchment and scratching out a sentence near the bottom. 'Though how I'll impress her now I don't know.'

'Impress her?' Sirius put an arm around James. 'I'd just flirt with her, mate, and then pull her in for a kiss.' James nodded gratefully and both Peter and Remus stood up in frustration.

'We'll be back when you've stopped being twats.' Peter informed them and pulled the parchment out of James' grasp whilst Remus picked up the book before they both stalked up the boys' staircase.

'What are they on about?' Sirius asked in confusion, watching their retreating backs.

'No idea, Pads.' James replied with a shrug. 'No idea…'

* * *

Monday dawned, however, despite the wishes of the inhabitants of the library during the late hours of Sunday evening and at breakfast many bore the signs of having stayed up all night to complete whatever tedious essay they had ignored on Friday and Saturday. The Gryffindor common room was quiet, with only a few stragglers doing a last-minute piece of homework, desperation etched on every centimetre of their face, so when Lily and Marlene came down the girls' staircase and headed to the notice board to pin up their advertisement for people to send their problems to Hogwarts' new Agony Aunt, they met little to no people in their way. It also meant Marlene could put her name down on the Gryffindor team try-out sheet in peace without having to shout at some random bystander, who had been cockily iterating about how _they_ would be chosen.

'Wayde Smith's got his name down for Chaser?' Marlene questioned incredulously as she spied who else had written their name on the notice. 'I had him for more of a Keeper.' Lily made no response, having absolutely no idea about Quidditch. When she'd first arrived in the Wizarding world, Lily had done everything in her power to learn about it so that no one could argue she was a clueless Muggle-born. Quidditch was one of the few things which she still couldn't get her head around but she didn't really mind, as long as she was able to support her House team it didn't really matter if she had no clue as to what was actually going on. 'Urgh. Black's put his name down for Beater…'

'I'm sure you'll get on the team, Marls.' Lily reassured her.

'You'd better be in the stands.' Marlene responded as the two of them made their way out of the common room. 'I'm not being a fucking loner while I wait for my turn.'

'Have I ever missed one of your try-outs before?' Lily asked, pretending to look offended.

'I'm just saying you'd better be there… Or else!' Marlene grinned at her best friend, who smiled back.

'How far did you get with your Amortentia potion on Friday?' Lily asked as they continued to walk. 'I got about half way but I'm not sure I'll finish in time today. D'you think Professor Slughorn'll let me come back after dinner?'

'I dunno why you're so worried. It's ruddy Slughorn you're talking about. He loves you – I reckon you could take a year to finish your potion and he wouldn't care.' Marlene smirked at Lily, who shook her head slightly. 'And anyway… I thought you'd almost finished yours. I swear that's what you said anyway.' Lily didn't reply and simply looked at the portraits they were passing. Her best friend narrowed her eyes suspiciously. 'You're not scared of what you'll smell, are you, Lil?'

'Not exactly.' Lily admitted and Marlene waited for her to elaborate. 'I'm worried about how I'll react.'

'How you'll react?' Marlene confirmed, trying, and failing, to keep a straight face. 'What d'you think you'll smell? A fucking dead corpse?'

'But what if I smell _someone_.' she said in a near whisper, still looking anywhere but at her best friend. Marlene stared at her. 'I've read a lot about Amortentia and apparently you can sometimes smell your soul mate.'

'Yeah, but what do a load of old books know about it? They were probably written by some perverted shit who spent their life sniffing their so called true love.' Marlene patted her on the back. 'Even if it's true, it's not like you'd smell Filch or something.'

'I'm not sure I believe in the whole destined to be together thing anyway.' Lily said with a sigh. They reached the Great Hall and chose two seats around the middle of the Gryffindor table. Dumping their school bags on the seats beside them, they helped themselves to food and while Marlene made herself a bacon sarnie, Lily spread liberal amounts of margarine and jam onto her piece of toast.

'Besides, if you do smell some weird shit, just lie about it. It's not like anyone can prove you're lying.' Marlene bit into her roll and closed her eyes slightly as she savoured the taste.

'True.' Lily chewed for a moment on her toast. 'What does Filch even smell of anyway?'

'Think you're going to get him?' Marlene asked with a grin and Lily chuckled slightly. 'Fish. I dunno why but wherever he goes it's like he drips a load of fish oil behind him.'

'I'll bare that in mind.' Lily mused before focusing her attention on eating as Marlene laughed. They ate for a while without talking and had scarcely finished when the school bell echoed across the Hall signalling the start of the school day. Marlene groaned slightly as she stood up and Lily smiled slightly. They both picked up their school bags, Lily's bag was a dark brown leather satchel and Marlen's a large black and white handbag, before heading in the direction of the dungeons and, more importantly, their Potions class.

The dungeons were notoriously cold during Autumn and Winter and today they did not disappoint. There was a numb chill that lingered in every breath the students, who waited outside their classroom, inhaled and what felt like the spread of ice through every bone, beginning at the slowly bluing fingertips and toes. Luckily, however, Professor Slughorn soon opened the door to his, considerably warmer, classroom and the class piled in and began setting up their cauldrons and collecting their half way completed potion. Lily laid out her pre-chopped ingredients, all neatly labelled, in front of her and tipped her potion into the cauldron. She opened her textbook to a recipe that had about ¾ of it annotated by her tidy miniscule script. A quill and ink bottle were positioned next to it, ready to use and as soon as Lily added her powdered Ashwinder eggs and followed the instruction to stir the potion once clockwise and then once anti-clockwise, she paused for a moment as though considering her next move and then stirred another anti-clockwise turn. She kept up this pattern and once the potion turned a distinctive mother-of-pearl sheen.

A few more ingredients, alterations and annotations later and Lily's potion had steam rising from her cauldron in beautiful spirals. She forced herself to breathe through her mouth so that she couldn't smell it. Professor Slughorn wobbled over to her, beaming and once he reached her cauldron and examined a ladle full.

'My, my, Miss Evans! Perfect! Absolutely perfect!' He closed his eyes and inhaled a deep breath through his nose. 'Ahhh… I can just smell the crystallised pineapple, a little Oak Matured Mead and the finest Honeydukes chocolate… Marvellous! 20 points to Gryffindor, Miss Evans!' Professor Slughorn smiled at her fondly and Lily's cheeks glowed with pride.

'Sir… Sir, I think I've done something wrong.' a voice called from the other end of the classroom.

'Very well, MacMillan, I'm coming.' the Professor responded irritably and with a last beam in Lily's direction, he made his way over to the urgent looking Hufflepuff. She returned to her textbook and set about writing some final notes beside the potion's instructions whilst Marlene, who was working next to her, swore at her own concoction.

'Turn fucking shinny y-'

'Want some help?' Lily asked, closing her textbook and peering into Marlene's cauldron. Her best friend nodded. 'I'd say you need some more Moonstone.'

'Thanks.' Marlene set about grinding some more Moonstone with her pestle and mortar. Lily glanced back at her own potion and for a fatal moment forgot to breathe through her mouth and felt the air inhale through her nose instead. The effect was instantaneous and a great contentment filled her from head to toe as her brain began to differentiate the scents that hung in the air. But Lily was distracted from identifying the smells as Marlene interrupted her thoughts by accidently knocking into her as she began looking wildly around her. 'You saw Black standing near us a second ago, didn't you?' Lily shook her head, confused. 'Fuck.'

'What's wrong?'

'Because I can smell his cologne right now.' It took Lily a few seconds to register what Marlene was saying; the heavy fumes from her own cauldron where intoxicating and making it difficult to process anything.

'But like you said,' Lily said lightly, trying to make her friend feel better. 'That soul mate thing was probably made up some…' Marlene was fixing her with an extremely aggravated gaze. 'Or not… But at least it smells nice, right?'

'Please kill me.' Marlene put a lid over the top of her cauldron and sank down into her seat, covering her face with her hands. Lily glanced over at where the Marauders sat and noted that Sirius' potion was a vivid green, which caused her face to become pensive because Sirius was usually quite good at Potions. Her eyes flickered briefly to James as her nose caught a waft of petrichor (the smell of earth after rain). He looked at her then and smirked. Lily turned hastily away, her cheeks stained pink, and wondered why the Amortentia smelt like _that_. She could also smell Cadbury's milk chocolate and the aroma that only resided in old, well-loved books – though these two were not nearly as strong the first.

'Did you smell anything else?' Lily prompted Marlene, who looked slightly panicked.

'What? Oh…yeah… My own body spray – you know the really nice peach one – and pine trees…'

'See,' Lily nudged her best friend gently. 'It wasn't all bad.'

'What about you? Smell your soul mate?' She sniffed loudly at her second question.

'Chocolate, books and that smell you get after it rains.' Lily replied with a shrug. 'Nothing that exciting.'

'I think I understand why you were so worried.' Marlene grumbled.

'I was worried I'd smell Edward…' Lily mumbled. 'I don't think I could cope with…'

'Thank fuck you didn't!' Marlene raised her hands to the ceiling and Lily laughed slightly. Then Marlene seemed to remember what she could smell in the Amortentia fumes and returned to her hopeless state. As if to add to this, Sirius strolled over at that precise moment.

'Why the long face, McKinnon? Smell Filch by any chance?' He looked surprised when Marlene didn't react. 'Don't worry, I don't think he's picky.' Sirius watched her expectantly but nothing happened; Marlene simply fiddled lamely with a clump of unicorn hair.

'I think you should go back to your cauldron, Black.' Lily said quietly. He turned to face her with a smirk fixed in place and as he did he was met with a face full of the spiralling steam. The drastic changes of Sirius' expressions would have been quite entertaining to watch had Lily not been so worried about Marlene for his face changed from smug to relaxed to giggly and then all of a sudden to absolute horror. Stumbling slightly, he backed away from the two girls and almost sprinted back to his own workspace, which earned him a reproving look from Professor Slughorn.

The lesson ended soon after that and the class packed up their things before ambling off to their next class. Marlene had Divination, with Sirius for that matter, and looked more like she was heading to the gallows than a lesson. Lily sighed slightly as Sirius swaggered past with James, throwing a curious look in Marlene's direction as her breathing began to quicken alarmingly.

'Oh no.' Lily said, ushering her in the direction of the nearest girls' bathroom.

'Oi, Evans!' James called after the two girls retreating backs. 'We've got Arithmancy. You'll be late!' Lily waved a hand to show she had heard him but did not alter her path. The loos were further away than Lily would have liked to drag her hyperventilating companion but she had no choice.

'It's going to be alright.' Lily tried to comfort her but all she got were a few angry huffs. They reached the girls' toilets and she opened the door in relief.

'Miss Evans! Miss McKinnon!' Professor McGonagall's voice cut through the air like a knife and although Marlene's breathing remained the same Lily froze in her actions. 'What are you doing outside of lessons? I know for a fact you two do not have a free period!'

'Professor…' Lily struggled to reply as Marlene wheezed beside her. 'We've just had Potions…and we finished making Amortentia…and Marlene sm-'

'Say no more, Miss Evans.' interrupted Professor McGonagall and in two long strides she had reached the pair of them. Taking the arm that Lily wasn't supporting, she helped too Marlene into the bathroom and conjured a stool for her to sit on. Marlene collapsed onto it and put her head in between her knees, gasping, whilst Lily rushed to get her a glass of water. Once handed the glass, Marlene began to take long, steadying gulps. 'Who is it?' Professor McGonagall muttered to Lily as they watched Marlene drink her water.

'Sirius Black.' she whispered back, glancing apprehensively at her best friend.

'Ah… I see.' Professor McGonagall sucked in her breath. There was a pregnant pause as Marlene coughed slightly on her sip of water. 'Well…' She cleared her throat as she raised her voice to address the girl sitting on the stool. 'Miss McKinnon, there is little to be said on the matter… It – it is what it is and you shall have to make the best of it.' Marlene looked up at her Professor with red eyes and slight tear stains on her cheeks.

'The best of it?' she gasped.

'Yes, Miss McKinnon…' Professor McGonagall's face bore no particular expression. 'A soul mate is not…the worst thing in the world and may reveal itself to be a…blessing in disguise.' Her face softened visibly. 'You are of strong character, Miss McKinnon. I see no reason why you can't come to terms with this…' Lily knelt down beside her best friend and hugged her reassuringly.

'It's going to be okay, Marls.'

It took another few glasses of water for Marlene to recover herself enough to head to Divination and as the girls departed, they thanked Professor McGonagall and she sent them off saying they could use her as an excuse for being late. Lily and Marlene went their separate ways once in the Entrance Hall, with Marlene heading towards North Tower and Lily to the east wing of the castle. It didn't take long for Lily to reach her Arithmancy class and she took a deep breath before knocking and entering.

 **Please Review :)**

 **Poor old Marlene! I'm not sure how I'd react if I found out my soul mate was someone I hated - what about you guys?**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Welcome back! I've had a slightly stressful week but this story is like my salvation.  
I'm overwhelmingly flattered by the reviews of this story and I hope I keep up with your expectations!**

 **Enjoy :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 10: The Try-outs**

* * *

Marlene and Lily headed down to the Quidditch pitch early on Wednesday evening. One carried a well-maintained, clearly loved broomstick over their shoulder whilst the other clutched a small stack of books. They had just eaten dinner and were well fed for the events that would follow over the next hour. The air was cool and still, though a light September breeze did ruffle the tops of the trees in the Forbidden Forest. It was a peaceful night, with only the occasional bird disrupting the scene as it accidently landed on the Whomping Willow and was unceremoniously thrown off. Only when they reached the Quidditch Pitch did the real chaos begin.

Alongside the stands and the 6 high goal posts were an alarmingly large crowd of hopefuls milling on the freshly cut grass. Lily's well-trained wary eyes spotted the Marauders almost a second after they entered the pitch and directed Marlene to the back of the crowd so as to avoid any unnecessary tension before the try-outs had even begun.

'And d'you know what that wanker wants us to do?' Marlene had been complaining all the way to the pitch about her Divination teacher, Professor Quinn; he was a small quietly spoken man with wispy white hair and rather absentminded-looking silver eyes. 'He wants us to do a fucking project about people's dreams! How much free time does he think I ruddy have? I've already got our fucking Agony Aunt to do!'

'I'm sure it'll help in the long run.' Lily reasoned and was immediately met by a glower from her counterpart. 'Y-' But her speech was cut off by James, who had decided to commence the try-outs. 'Good luck.' she said to Marlene and made her way to the stands where she found a seat with a good view and was shortly joined by Remus and Peter.

'EVERYONE GET INTO GROUPS OF 10!' James bellowed at the crowd of hopefuls. There was a sudden scrambling as everyone rushed to follow orders; the Head boy (and Gryffindor Quidditch Captain) had a steely glint in his eye which clearly indicated he was not to be trifled with. Once in the groups of 10, James had the candidates fly a lap around the pitch which soon ridded an alarming number of candidates as they did not possess the ability to fly. There were also a few giggling girls, who perhaps could fly but gave no indication towards this ability as they were too busy admiring the athletic figures of both James Potter and Sirius Black. Lily's insides squirmed irritably but she had little time to dwell on the unexpected emotion because her eyes noted Edward evoking a more pressing feeling of discomfort. He locked eyes with her for the briefest of moments and then he turned away with his jaw set and a slight swagger in his walk. Meanwhile, Lily tried to ignore the churning of her stomach that was making her feel sick.

The Chasers were chosen first and James put the candidates through their paces flying to-and-fro at breakneck speed. Although the two he chose were of an exceptional skill, Lily thought in spite of herself, they did not possess the same natural brilliance of their Captain. Her stomach paused momentarily in its personal attempt a regurgitate every meal she'd ever eaten to flutter as he glanced in her direction. She looked away as Remus coughed and her stomach returned to its previous state. Edward caught Lily's eye once more as James called forth the potential Keepers. His swagger became even more exaggerated and Lily kept her mouth clamped shut for fear she might throw up over all the seats in front of her.

Each Keeper was given 6 attempts to save the Quaffle and those who saved the highest amount were then put against one another. Edward managed to make it to the final two where he was up against a burly 5th year named, Stewart Andrews; Stewart saved 6 out of 6 goals and Edward 5. There was a rather tense moment when James declared Stewart the new Gryffindor Keeper as, in the background, Edward could be seen hitting his broomstick repeatedly against the grass. As the possible Beaters were made to hit Bludgers at the Chasers, who were darting around the pitch, Lily could barely watch she felt so unwell. Marlene whacked a Bludger so hard it began pelting towards Edward, who was still having a small tantrum, and collided with his broomstick, splintering it completely.

'McKinnon, you're on the team!' James announced gleefully, doubling over on his broomstick. Sirius soon proved his aim and skill also and the two returned Beaters from the previous few years joined the fraction of the Gryffindor team that had already been chose. Lily gave Marlene a thumbs up before excusing herself and hurrying back up towards the castle. The first-floor bathroom was nearest and she rushed into it, barricading herself in the closest cubicle and promptly vomiting into the toilet. Kneeling down before it, Lily braced herself for the inevitable second upchuck reflex. When it came, it felt as though her throat was screaming in protest so she unlocked the cubicle and made her way over to the wall of sinks. Most of the mirrors were cracked so as Lily conjured a glass, filled it with tap water and glanced at her reflection she was met by at least 12 pasty faces looking back at her. Taking long, steadying sips, she closed her eyes.

'Not pregnant, are you?' a delighted voice asked, causing Lily's eyes to snap open.

'Hello, Myrtle.' Lily greeted, turning around and surveying the ghost of a rather ugly looking girl. She frowned slightly. 'No, no. Just nerves.'

'That's a shame. It would've been excellent gossip: The Head girl pregnant.' She pushed her thickly rimmed glasses up her nose and did a loop the loop in the air. 'Imagine how they'd tease you and make fun of you. Your reputation would've been ruined!'

'You've put a lot of thought into the outcome of such a rumour.' Lily said, still examining Myrtle shrewdly. Her gaze seemed to unsettle the ghost slightly.

'Yes.' Myrtle sniffed and picked at a pimple on her chin. 'Well, no one would belief a rumour like that about _you_ anyway.'

'I suppose not.' Lily agreed, pushing up the sleeves of her school robes. Myrtle eyed the Head girl badge on Lily's clothing.

'I wanted to be Head girl.' she said mournfully, flying straight at Lily and poking the badge so that a part of her chest suddenly felt like ice. 'I was only a Prefect.'

'I'm sure you were a great Prefect.' Lily replied sincerely but Myrtle eyed her with suspicion.

'Are you being sarcastic?' Myrtle asked snappily and Lily shook her head. This didn't seem to reassure her at all as her eyes narrowed behind her glasses. 'I'll have you know I was the best Prefect in my year!'

'I never said you weren't.' Lily defended and vanished her glass of water. 'Well, I'd better be going. See you around, Myrtle!' She waved at the sour-faced ghost and departed. It made little sense to return to the Quidditch pitch because she guessed, correctly, that try-outs had likely ended during the time she'd been in the girls' loos with Myrtle. So instead of heading out into the grounds, she began making her way back to Gryffindor Tower. The corridors were mostly quiet and void of any students but every so often a few people would pass her on their way back from the library or somewhere similar. As she walked she hummed to herself and thought about how close the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year was. Marlene had already been asked by several people but each one had received the same slightly jumpy rejection. She was still, understandably, stressed about the situation with Sirius and the Amortentia potion and had begun completely ignoring the existence of her so-called soul mate. Although Lily hoped she would eventually make peace with him, she had to admit that ignoring Sirius was an improvement from the panic attacks she had had every time he came near her.

The sound of raised voices brought Lily's humming to an abrupt halt as she strained her ears to follow the source of the shouting. The voices seemed to be coming from a corridor or two away from where she stood so Lily began making her way in their direction. As she neared them they became more distinguishable and she thought they might belong to two males.

'Send my love to mother, why don't you?' one of the voices sneered. 'And tell her to stick her wrinkled head up her fat arse!'

'Mother?' the other scoffed. 'You haven't been her son in a long time.'

'That's such a shame.' the first voice snapped. 'I can't stand her and her shit.'

'You can't stand her? More like she can't stand you but looks like a lot of people can't. I mean, you're adopted parents didn't exactly stick around.' There was a loud thud and a grunt of pain.

'YOU TAKE THAT BACK!' they snarled and Lily recognised the voice to be that of Sirius Black. She had reached the corridor and her eyes widened at the scene before her. Sirius stood holding another boy, who looked very similar to him, by the scruff of his robes and pointing his wand threateningly at the boy's throat. 'I SAID-'

'Black…' Lily's voice was quiet and nervous but the addition of a new speaker to the situation made it carry across the corridor. 'Black, don't do something you'll regret.'

She was astonished more than anything that he actually listened. Sirius slowly let go of the boy and stepped back as Lily moved towards the two of them. It was then she noticed the boy had a broken nose which was bleeding and covering his mouth in red liquid.

'Stay there.' she instructed Sirius, who had made to leave the scene. 'I want a word.' Then she turned to the boy, who was analysing her. 'I can mend your nose.' she told him and as he took in her red hair, his expression became a haughty sneer.

'Well, go on, Mudblood,' he commanded, 'heal it.'

'You might want to try a please.' Lily suggested softly as she threw out a hand to stop Sirius, who had stormed forwards once more. The boy's face changed to one of shock.

'Please,' he mocked but Lily seemed satisfied, ' _Mudblood_.' he added nastily as Lily's hand reached out to hold his face straight. She surprised him with how gentle she was despite the fact he had just insulted her and a second later his nose was as good as new.

'You'll have to clean it yourself.' she informed him. 'You can go.' As the boy left, she turned to Sirius, who stood behind her with his eyes still flashing with anger.

'What d'you want, Evans?' he snapped. 'If you're going to dock points and give me detentions just get on with it.' Sirius tapped his foot irritably but Lily didn't respond – rather she studied his face. 'Come on then. Get on with your goody two shoes stuff.'

'What happened?' she asked. Her question clearly had been the last thing he'd been expecting as he looked at her sharply.

'Storing this up to tell McKinnon, are you?' Sirius asked scathingly. 'Needs new material to insult me with, does she?'

'No.' Lily's short reply was firm and seemed to change Sirius' mind about her intentions.

'I was arguing with my brother.' he said after a long silence between the two of them. The two of them moved towards a wall and sat down against it. Lily didn't speak, sensing that Sirius would elaborate of his own accord and didn't need prompting. 'I guess I should start at the beginning. It won't make sense to you if I don't.'

'Maybe I should get P-'

'Evans, you wanted to know what happened and I've decided to trust you so don't try back out of it now.' Sirius interrupted impatiently and waited a moment to make sure Lily had fallen into an attentive silence. 'You know that I'm pureblood, right?' She nodded. 'Well, I come from an old pureblood family who hate Muggle-borns, think anyone who isn't pureblood shouldn't be allowed in the Wizarding world and all that bullshit. I was raised that way and when I turned up at Hogwarts I was kind of the same but then I became mates with the rest of the Marauders and realised all that pureblood rubbish was…well…a load of rubbish. My parents weren't happy about me being sorted into Gryffindor but they coped with it until I started telling them they were wrong about Muggle-borns. They freaked out and every summer I'd go home and listen to them try and "correct" me.' Sirius shuddered slightly at the thought of it. 'But last summer I had enough and I moved out. James and his parents took me in – they were already like my adopted family.'

'Right.' Lily turned to face him and saw his face wasn't angry anymore.

'Anyway, Reg, my brother, agrees with my parents and loves to taunt me about it. He doesn't usually get to me but…today he made fun of… He hates me but I just wish he'd see sense.'

'It's okay…' Lily said comfortingly. 'Maybe one day he'll come around.' Sirius laughed hollowly. 'And even if he doesn't, there's nothing wrong with caring about him. I should know…'

'Really, Evans?' Sirius asked, his voice slightly lighter. ' _You_ know about your sibling hating you?'

'Yes, I do.' she responded, looking away from him. Sirius waited expectantly. 'But that's for a day when I decide to trust you.' It wasn't an insult just a statement. But Sirius comprehended and he stood up before offering her a hand up, which she accepted. They walked in silence back to Gryffindor Tower but there was a strange understanding between them which didn't have words to explain it.

'Thanks, Evans.' Sirius said as they reached the Fat Lady. He held out a hand for her to shake which she shook with a smile. 'You stopped me losing it back there.'

'You're welcome.' Lily replied. ' _Benevolence_.' The portrait hole was revealed as she said the password and they climbed in together before heading their separate ways. Lily spotted Marlene working by the fireplace and walked over whilst Sirius made his way to where James, Remus and Peter sat playing gobstones.

'Prongs, mate,' Sirius began, plonking himself down in a free chair. 'Promise me you'll marry Evans. She's a pretty cool bird.' And James beamed, though not for long as he was squirted by the foul-smelling liquid from one of Remus' gobstones.

* * *

The next day brought with it a torrent of rain so that the 7th years on their way to Herbology were drenched from head to toe. Lily and Marlene conjured umbrellas while they waited for Professor Sprout to open the door Greenhouse 7. The Marauders were messing about trying to push one another onto the muddy ground and Marlene scowled at the sight of them.

'You know if _he_ ,' Marlene had taken to referring to Sirius with pronouns only, 'didn't exist, I wouldn't be in all this shit.'

'We need to hand in our article to Professor McGonagall.' Lily said, completely changing topic. 'Are you free after dinner?'

'I am but you're not.' Marlene answered. 'You've got patrol duty with Potter.'

'I forgot about that.' Lily admitted and Marlene snorted. There was a loud splat as James was pushed face first by Remus into the freshly created mud. Spluttering, he pushed himself up; he was absolutely covered in mud and as James stood up, Professor Sprout arrived.

'Right, chaps!' she said cheerily and was apparently oblivious to the clap of thunder which made all her students jump. 'Come in, come in!' As the class moved gratefully into the greenhouse, Professor Sprout signalled for James and Lily to wait. Once everyone else was inside she turned to them. 'Professor McGonagall wants a word with you two.'

'Now?' James asked blankly.

'Yes, Potter, now.' she replied impatiently and frowned slightly at the fact he was caked in mud before waving them off. Lily and James headed obediently back towards the castle but once they were inside, the Head girl stopped and once he noticed this, the Head boy stopped too.

'You're a mess.' Lily said and there was an element of disapproval in her expression as she gave him a once over.

'Tell me about it.' James agreed with a laugh. Her expression softened as she set about cleaning his robes with magic; there was also mud on his face so she conjured a cloth and stepped on her tiptoes to wipe the dirt off his face. Perhaps it was the fact that she held his hair back with her hand or the fact she could feel his warm breath on her nose or the fact that she was effectively stroking his face that made her cheeks burn scarlet. She promptly stopped and handed him the cloth.

'Um… Yes… There's still a bit left on your forehead.' Lily mumbled and hastily took several steps back. Once James was satisfactorily clean, they continued on their way.

'So, what're you doing for the Hogsmeade weekend?' James asked her casually.

'Nothing really. I don't think Marlene's going so I'll probably pick some stuff up for her.' she replied with a shrug. 'It'll be nice to get out of the castle for a bit.'

'Yeah, I dunno what I'm doing yet. Reckon I'll just look around… Pete's got a date with some Hufflepuff, Sirius has detention and Remus wants to study so I'll probably go alone.'

'Maybe we could meet up…' Lily suggested and then looked away in embarrassment as she realised what she might have insinuated. 'I mean,' she coughed nervously, 'we're both Heads so we could have a…a Heads' day out…'

'Sounds great, Evans.' James' features arranged themselves into a look of amusement as he regarded the female beside him. 'Meet you at 11 in the Entrance Hall?'

'Sure.' Lily smiled up at him as they reached Professor McGonagall's office and knocked. The office door didn't open immediately and Lily tied her hair up in a messy bun while they waited. James watched her with a smile of his own. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off as the door opened and Professor McGonagall let them into her office.

'Forgive me. I had a rather urgent letter to reply to.' she said, seating herself behind her desk and indicating they sit also. They complied and waited for her to speak, though James kept shooting looks at Lily. 'Are you quite finished, Mr Potter?' Professor McGonagall asked, with amusement lacing her stern tone. 'I am quite certain Miss Evans will still be here at the end of the meeting. I do not believe she has the intent of running away.'

'Sorry, Professor.' James said, miming a salute and forcing himself to stop looking at Lily every five seconds. Lily fiddled with her sleeve but otherwise continued to pay attention to the Deputy Headmistress.

'I must apologise for pulling you out of your lesson but I wanted to discuss the upcoming Hogsmeade weekend. As Head boy and girl, you are expected to assist Mr Filch with checking Hogsmeade permission form and, in a new addition to safety regulations, searching students for any dark or dangerous objects. Mr Potter, you will be checking forms with Mr Filch a-'

'YES!' James cried in celebration and Lily smiled into her lap as Professor McGonagall fixed him with a particularly stern look. 'Sorry, Professor.' he mumbled.

'And, Miss Evans, you will be using a Secrecy Sensor to make sure no students are smuggling Dark objects out of the castle. In these times, your tasks are of the upmost importance and the safety of students is a priority. I shall also have to ask you meet Mr Filch in the Entrance Hall by 9.30 am and to try and to return to the school last out of all the students which should be around 8 pm latest.'

'Of course, Professor.' Lily said and both she and James nodded.

'Very well, you are excused.' The two Heads stood up and Lily fumbled in her school bag for a moment before pulling out a scroll tied with green ribbon.

'Professor, I have the first c-'

'Thank you, Miss Evans.' Professor McGonagall cut across her and looked pointedly at James. Lily understood and handed her the scroll. Then she left with James strolling next to her, talking about this and that, as they made their way back to Herbology and the torrential rain outside.

 **Please Review :)**

 **Who loves McGonagall? I love McGonagall - I honestly think she's one of the best characters in the Harry Potter universe.**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Thanks again for your amazing reviews! This chapter is full of Lily and James moments so enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 11: A Heads' Day Out**

* * *

'You're sure you don't want to come?' Lily checked for what seemed like the hundredth time. Marlene simply groaned and rolled over in her four-poster bed, pulling the covers tighter around her. 'Black won't be there you know. He's got detention.' An unpleasant noise, one that resembled a snort mixed with a gag, sounded from behind the covers. 'You're more likely to bump into him staying here than if you're in Hogsmeade.'

'I'm not fucking going, Lil! I want to lie here and mope!' Marlene declared dramatically and Lily smiled at her best friend's antics. It was lucky really that the other girls in their dormitory had already headed down for breakfast in high spirits and discussing all the things they were planning to buy that day.

'That's hardly productive.'

'I don't care. I'm never going to be happy again so today I'm practicing for every day of my life.' Lily rolled her eyes. 'Don't roll you're eyes at me, Lily Evans! This is a serious matter!'

'You could say it's a _Sirius_ matter!' Lily's eyes lit up at her own pun and she struggled to keep a straight face as Marlene sat up, tousle-haired and hilariously furious.

'It's not funny!' she insisted, though her appearance said otherwise. Her anger seemed to fade as she took in Lily's attire. 'YOU'VE GOT YOU'RE DATE WITH POTTER!' Marlene cried, leaping out of bed and shoving Lily towards her wardrobe. It really was lucky their roommates were absent.

'It's not a date.' Lily muttered but Marlene either didn't hear her or chose not to.

'You didn't seriously think you could were _that_ , did you?' she asked horrified and began rifling through Lily's clothing. She pulled out a dark green tartan dress and a pair of black tights. 'I'm thinking heels… Put it on then!' Lily obliged and changed out of her comfortable jumper and jeans into the clothes Marlene had been holding.

'I'm not wearing heels. I've got to walk to Hogsmeade!' Instead Lily gestured to her black converses, which she already wore, and picked up her black coat and handbag. Checking her alarm clock, she saw it was already 9 am and hurried towards the dormitory door. 'Promise me you won't hide in here all day!' she called as she left and then rushed downstairs and to the Great Hall where she hastily grabbed a bacon sarnie before striding towards the Entrance Hall. In her haste, she almost crashed into James, who stepped out of the way so that only her shoulder collided with him. This knocked her back slightly but he grabbed her free hand quickly to stop her falling. 'Thanks.' Lily said and then promptly dropped his hand, her embarrassment evident across her face. In the hope of making herself seem indifferent, she bit into her sarnie and began to chew furiously on the slightly too large piece of food in her mouth.

'You're welcome.' he responded with a laugh. 'I think we've beaten Filch.' They both looked towards the small queue of excited 3rd years waiting eagerly for their chance to visit Hogsmeade. 'Merlin, they're desperate.'

'I'm sure you were exactly the same when you were 13.' Lily pointed out smiling and he pouted.

'No, I wasn't!' James insisted. 'I was cool!' Lily coughed, though it may have been more of a sceptical noise, and then they made their way outside. She pulled out a Secrecy Sensor, which Professor McGonagall had given her during Transfiguration on Friday, and James produced a list of all the students who had handed in their forms. They took up their positions and set to work so that when Filch arrived he could offer no criticism. Nothing eventful happened, except a 5th year throwing a tantrum at around 10.41 am because their parents had forgotten to send their form to their Head of House, and by the time 11.30 am rolled around Lily and James were both bored out of their minds. Luckily, Filch dismissed them as the stream of students had started to turn more into a trickle, with only a few lazy 7th years waltzing towards where they stood. The two Heads took their leave happily and together made their way towards the village.

'We should play a game.' James announced after they had walked a few minutes in absolute silence.

'What kind of game?' Lily asked, a little warily.

'We take it in turns to ask each other questions and whoever's asked a question has to answer truthfully.'

'Alright.' Lily agreed. 'You can ask first.'

'Have you ever fancied Snivellus?' James' first question took Lily by surprise and she immediately began to regret agreeing. She and Marlene had an unspoken rule never to mention him because doing so evoked painful memories for Lily.

'No.' Lily paused, thinking of a question. 'What's your favourite colour?' She decided that question was much safer than the one James had asked and would bring the conversation into much safer territory.

'Green – emerald green specifically.' he replied with a wink. Lily was unsure of how to react so she just nodded awkwardly. 'Yours is blue, isn't it?' She nodded again. 'What-'

'That was technically a question.' Lily interrupted nudging him. 'My turn!'

'Unfair!' James whined and she laughed.

'Favourite food?'

'I'm going to have to go with shepherd's pie. You?'

'Fish and chips.' Lily replied, grinning slightly at the thought of the Three Broomstick's fish and chips. Her stomach gave a loud rumble and both she and James chortled.

'Hungry?' James asked with a smirk.

'I think it's my turn to ask a question.' Lily answered with a smirk of her own. 'Who was your first kiss?' Her eyes were filled with mischief and James felt his insides leap as he noticed.

'Julia Abbott.' James responded instantly. 'I'd just got on the Gryffindor team and what can I say? I'm a lady magnet.' Lily laughed and he grinned at how relaxed she was with him. 'So, what about you, Evans? Who was you first kiss?'

'Edward.' she replied and her smile slipped slightly.

'Is that all I get? I told you when it happened for me.'

'You didn't ask when it happened and neither did I. That was your choice to add in detail.' James let out a loud huff at being outsmarted but he was glad to see Lily's smile had returned fully.

'What's the worst thing you've ever done?'

'Probably those things I said to you in 5th year…' she admitted and avoided his gaze.

'That doesn't count. You're going to have to answer again – I deserved every word.'

'No… You didn't.' Lily mumbled. 'I was wrong to say that stuff…' James shrugged and put his hands in his pockets.

'Well, Evans, it's happened now. Not much we can do about it now… Now answer my question!' He pushed her playfully on the shoulder and her lips twitched slightly.

'I tried to turn Edward into a cockroach.' Lily confessed and jumped when James let out a roar of laughter. He clutched her for support as he spluttered with mirth.

'Please…tell…me…' He snorted loudly. 'It…worked…HAHAHAHAHAHA!'

'Well, kind of.' Lily said, once James had calmed down enough to walk on his own again. 'Marlene hit him at the same time with what I think was a jelly legs jinx so he turned into half a cockroach and his top half grew a load of tentacles.'

'Bloody hell, Evans…' James looked at her in wonder. Lily, on the other hand, considered him nervously.

'Professor McGonagall already knows but I'd be grateful if you didn't tell anyone.'

'Don't worry, Evans, your secret's safe with me.' They had reached Hogsmeade and headed for Honeydukes. Inside the sweet shop, it was warm and the air smelled of delicious confectionary. As the shop bell tinkled, Lily pulled out a list. 'You're prepared.' James observed with a chuckle.

'I'm buying Marlene some of her favourites. She's been having a…' Lily reconsidered what she'd been about to say, 'an interesting time recently so I reckon this'll help cheer her up a bit.' The two of them split up for a while as Lily searched around the shop for her desired purchases and James went to a display of chocolate cauldrons. He stared at the shelf for a long time before deciding to take the largest box of the cakes he could carry. Bringing it over to the till, he checked that Lily couldn't see him before paying and then putting the box away in a rucksack that had an undetectable extension charm placed on it. Lily came over a little later, laden with precariously stacked confectionery and deposited them on the counter with a small sigh of relief. She handed over the correct amount of money and then stowed away the sweets and chocolates in her handbag – clearly James wasn't the only one who had an undetectable extension charm on his bag. Unlike James, however, Lily had had the brains to also bewitch her bag to be feather light so she carried her handbag as if it were nothing on their way to Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop.

They entered the shop and James stood, slightly uncomfortably, next to the door as Lily walked eagerly into the depths of the shop. He had always avoided this shop, partly because he avoided stationery whenever possible and partly because the shop was always so silent. The person manning the till always watched anyone examining a quill with great suspicion and every time James witnessed this, he was reminded, with a nasty jolt, of Remus when someone borrowed one of his books. He had never been able to look at Remus the same way again and perhaps, according to Remus, it was a good thing because James was now too scared to ruin or forget to return one of his beloved books.

Lily, however, looked right at home in the shop and even waved merrily at the sales assistant, who, to James' astonishment, waved back; she always amazed James with how easily she could befriend the unfriendliest of people. He decided it wouldn't even surprise him if she was friends with the barman of the Hog's Head, who, in James' opinion, was the grumpiest man on the planet. Lily chose a set of elegant black feather quills and paid for them before casting an amused eye of James, who looked as though he was considering sprinting out of the shop. Once the two of them had left, he let out a sigh of relief and Lily chuckled slightly. Her stomach gave another loud rumble.

'Lunch?' James suggested and she nodded. They walked along the high street but stopped at a point almost exactly in between the Three Broomsticks pub and Madame Puddifoot's tea shop. Lily eyed the tea shop warily and then looked at James. 'The choice is yours, Evans.'

'The Three Broomsticks.' Lily said firmly. To her confusion, James seemed to deflate slightly at her decision. 'We can go to Ma-'

'No, no. The Three Broomsticks is fine.' He forced a smile but Lily saw right through it. Nevertheless, she led the way into the pub and they chose a booth by one for the fogged-up windows. 'Want d'you want eat and drink? I'll go order.'

'Oh. Um… Some fish and chips and a Butterbeer – I'm paying you back.' James let out a laugh and waved his hand as he made his way to the bar. The young barmaid, Rosmerta, tottered about in her turquoise high heels serving customers and the sashayed over to the bar to serve James. Lily bit back a laugh as some of the 5th year boys, who also waited at the bar, attempted to ruffle their hair and lean against the bar in what they clearly though was a cool and attractive way. Once James had placed his order and Rosmerta had handed him two large tankards of Butterbeer, he headed back to where Lily sat.

'There you go, milady.' he said with a small bow as he handed Lily her drink.

'Thanks. How much do I owe you?' James, who had just sat down, shook his head jovially.

'It's on me.' Lily would have protested but James continued speaking. 'Amateurs.' he said, taking a sip of Butterbeer and indicating at the 5th years.

'They've got to start somewhere.' she replied with a smile and then snorted as her eyes focused on James.

'What?' he asked and Lily chortled at the sight of the foam that had settled above his lips.

'You've…got f-foam on your…' Lily couldn't finish her sentence for laughter and James wiped the foam off before grinning appreciatively.

'I cannot believe you're laughing at me, Evans.' James said, shaking his head soberly.

'S-sorry.' she gasped through her chuckles and took a few moments to calm down. By the time she had, the food arrived and both Heads attacked their meals with gusto. Lily found that she was extremely comfortable around James but it seemed a different kind of comfortable to that which she felt around Marlene or Remus. She couldn't explain it but for some reason she wasn't nervous around him nor did she worry about his reaction when she laughed weirdly or ate in an unsophisticated manner.

When they eventually finished their meals, they donned on their coats and headed back outside. It was only 2 pm so they still had a few hours to burn before returning to the castle. James lead the way to Zonko's joke shop and as they entered he inhaled the pungent smell of explosives as though he was coming home. Lily followed him to the back shelves, which were stacked with all manner of strange and wonderful creations, and waited while he examined two different varieties of wart inducing powder.

'Which one, Evans, d'you think's better?' James asked, holding out the two containers. Lily took each one in turn and examined the ingredients list.

'That one.' She pointed to the smaller of the two. 'It's got Doxy venom in it.'

'Does that make a difference?' James questioned, curiously.

'Yes…' Lily said, eying him uncertainly. 'Doxy venom makes the effects of potions last longer but only in small doses. Large doses are used in poisons because it's highly toxic if you have too much… I imagine it's the same in powders.'

'I didn't know that, Evans.' James grinned at her. 'You'd be an excellent prankster.'

'Sure.' But she smiled nonetheless. Replacing the larger container, James moved a little along the shelf and looked through an array of fake wands that either exploded when the user tried to cast a spell with it or sprayed them with water. While he did this, Lily wrinkled her nose at a collection of love potions but picked one up to read the label. 'D'you think I could slip some of this stuff in Black's drink without him noticing and without getting in trouble?' she asked James, thinking of Marlene's miserable face whenever Sirius was mentioned.

'Probably.' James replied, glumly. 'Got a thing for Sirius, Evans?'

'What?' Lily started. 'No, not me…' Then she was struck by an idea. 'Marlene's got a massive crush on Black but you know what she's like… I guess a love potion wouldn't exactly help…'

'McKinnon fancies Sirius?' James asked, stunned. 'I did not see that coming…'

'I shouldn't have said that!' Lily said, pretending to be panicking about what she'd just told James. 'I… No no no! You can't know! Forget I said that!' She began to pace frantically. 'I'm such a bad friend! It was meant to be a secret and…and I just told you!'

'Evans-'

'Now you'll tell Black and he'll know and then he'll make fun of her! Oh, me and my stupid mouth! Why couldn't I keep my mouth shut? I'm a terrible human being!' Perhaps she was laying it on a bit thick but James seemed to be convinced by her acting.

'Lily...' She stopped pretending to lose her nerve at the sound of James calling her by her first name. 'Lily,' He said again as she turned slowly to face him. 'I won't tell him… I promise.' James sounded so sincere that she felt slightly guilty to have counterfeited being certain he would tell Sirius.

'Thank you.' she whispered, looking up at him. James reached out a hand and squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. They looked at each other for a moment too long causing Lily's cheeks to heat up and she stepped hastily back. 'Yes… Well… Like I said… Thank you…'

'No problem.' James replied with a shrug and then gestured to his wart powder. 'I'd better pay for this.' As he walked off to the till, Lily made her way to the exit taking long steadying breaths. She waited by the door but didn't have to stand there long as the queue for the till had been non-existent and James paid quickly. They left the shop. 'You kn-' Lily suddenly pulled him behind the bins next to Zonko's Joke Shop. 'What was that about?' he asked as they crouched behind a large dustbin. She didn't respond but squinted through the gap between the bin and a much bigger dumpster. Being taller than Lily meant James was able to peer over her head and attempt to see what she was looking at. At first, he saw nothing but then spotted Edward slouching along the opposite side of the street. 'Hiding from you ex, are we?' James asked smugly. 'I never had you pegged as a-' But what James hand never pegged her as she didn't find out because she interrupted him.

'I was avoiding a conflict in the street.' she defended.

'I doubt McClaggen would start a fight with you.'

'No, not with me.' Lily agreed and it took James a few seconds realise what she meant. He huffed indignantly but she wasn't paying attention; two people were walking directly past the dustbins talking in low voices.

'You think you can get us in?' the shorter of the two muttered but from where Lily and James were crouched, they could hear everything with ease. The two drew to a halt and unwittingly continued their conversation within hearing distance of the Head boy and girl.

'Like I said, I have contacts. Besides, if you know who to ask, you can get in quite easily.' the other murmured and Lily's heart sank in recognition: Severus Snape. 'He's looking for followers, you know.'

Lily heard the sound of giggling from a little further up the pavement. This sound seemed to alert the two by the bins to the fact they were conversing out in the open and swiftly they moved on and out of sight. Lily and James waited for the gaggle of giggling individuals to pass before they stood up and stepped out from behind the bins. Edward had already left the scene but Lily's mind had forgotten him. Her brain whirred into action and she and James moved in silence towards Gladrags Wizardwear both of them lost in thought.

 **Please Review :)**

 **What did you think? Did you like the amount of Lily/James time?**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Welcome back! Are we all feeling refreshed after a whole chapter of James and Lily? I hope so!**

 **Enjoy :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 12: Letters and Words**

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School returned begrudgingly on Monday morning but unlike the majority of her peers, Lily found herself looking forward to the school day. She awoke in an elated mood and hummed Elton John songs throughout her shower in the Prefects' Bathroom. At breakfast, her cheerful temperament only increased at the sight of two owls making a beeline for her and dropping three letters in front of her. One owl, a large barn owl, had delivered a letter addressed to _Dear Cat_ so she put that to the side for when Marlene's tired figure inevitably arrived and turned to the other two envelopes, which had been carried by a snowy owl Lily recognised to be the owl she sent to her parents with a brief letter telling them she'd arrived at Hogwarts and Edward was no longer her boyfriend. She would have opened them there at the breakfast table but Sirius and James sat down opposite her so she decided against it – Lily was extremely private in regards to her mail.

'Morning, Lily!' James greeted brightly and Sirius, who was far too exhausted for any form of conversation, did a small wave before pulling the jug of coffee towards him.

'Morning, you two.' Lily smiled; James had called her by her first name again and somewhere deep, very deep, down her insides leapt. 'Late night?' she asked Sirius, who grunted while James laughed. Sirius was drinking his way through a mug of coffee and did not answer so James took it upon himself to reply instead.

'He stayed up till 4 am waiting for me to get back from the library so he could try and scare me. Took the git 7 hours to realise I was already in bed.' Lily shook her head in disbelief as James roared with laughter once more. Helping himself to some sausages and a fried egg, he glanced at Lily, who had picked up a copy of the Daily Prophet which had been lying next to her on the table. Her face knit into a look of disgust as she began to scan the front page. 'Is it that bad?' James asked her.

'12 dead in Newcastle… Final death toll still to be released.' she replied, reading off the article, 'Confirmed Death Eater attack… Casualties up to 46 people…'

'Fucking hell…' James muttered and was met with a reprimanding look from Lily due to the fact that a group of 1st years were walking past. Sirius drained the rest of his coffee and ruffled his hair before reaching for some toast. Tilting her head slightly, Lily observed him and after a moments consideration she glanced towards the doors into the Great Hall and, as she had predicted, Marlene was making her way over to them. There was a loud cough and Lily looked sharply at James, who indicated Sirius with a small jerk of his head and smirked. Lily nodded slowly but stopped abruptly as Marlene plonked into the seat beside her.

'What're you laughing at?' Marlene snapped irritably in James' direction. The Head boy had lapsed into a set of evil cackles and Lily bit her lip to stop herself joining in as she caught sight of both Sirius and Marlene's bewildered expressions.

'We've got Head business to discuss.' James said loudly, standing up and Lily, cottoning on, nodded and stood up also. She pressed the letter addressed to _Dear Cat_ into Marlene's hands and scurried after James.

'Sorry, Marls. See you in Potions!' She felt slightly guilty abandoning Marlene but judging by the pink tinge that had appeared on Sirius' cheeks, she had done the right thing. Lily and James left the Hall, waving at Remus, who was talking to Professor Flitwick at the staff table, on their way out and sent knowing looks at Peter, who sat with Flora Jenkins at the Hufflepuff table. Once out of the Great Hall, James pulled Lily to the side with a grin on his face.

'One day those two'll thank us.' he said, pointing at where they'd just come from.

'Let's hope so anyway.' Lily agreed and began fumbling around her bag for her timetable. 'We have Arithmancy second, right?' She checked and then produced her desired piece of parchment. 'Yup.'

'And you're sitting next to the best bloke in the world.' He smirked at her.

'Of course… How could I forget?' Lily grinned at him as they began to head in the direction of their Potions classroom.

'Quite easily, I could imagine.' a snide voice said from behind them. The two Heads spun around and confronted the sneering face of Edward. Lily's smile instantly became a look of discomfort and James resembled someone who had fallen into a large pile of dragon dung.

'McClaggen.' James greeted coolly with a sideways glance at Lily. His hands had curled into fists and his stance was tense as he stepped slightly in front of Lily like he was planning to be her human shield.

'I see you've got yourself a new boyfriend already.' Edward observed coldly, directing his comment at the Head girl, who seemed to by toying with the decision of what to say. 'Sla-'

'You sure you want to finish that word, McClaggen?' James asked, his tone dangerous. With one swift movement, he had pulled out his wand and Lily sighed in exasperation. However, both boys seemed to have forgotten her presence as they glowered at each other, wands gripped in front of them, and stood almost nose to nose. James was a little taller than Edward and in this scenario their height gap was incredibly noticeable.

' _Leave him ALONE!'_

'Why don't we just go to our lesson?' Lily suggested brightly, trying and failing to ease the tension. The two boys continued to glare at each other for a moment, James towering over Edward, before Edward threw his wand onto the floor.

'I challenge you to a duel.' he snarled and James met his gaze with equal malice.

' _Leave him alone. What's he done to you?'_

'Surely we can shake hands and make up?' Lily looked desperately between the two boys as slowly and obviously, James bent down and picked up Edward's wand. He thrust it into his opponent's hand and spat on the ground at Edward's feet.

' _Well, it's more the fact that he exists, if you know what I mean…'_

'I accept your duel. Meet me at midnight in the trophy room and may the best man win.' They scowled for another few seconds before Edward gave a curt nod and stormed off ahead of the two Heads just as the school bell resounded across the corridor. James' face revealed him to be slightly pleased of himself but Lily simply sighed and hurried towards their desired destination. Jogging after her, James smirked and followed her into the dungeons. Throughout their Potions lesson, Lily worked in grim silence with Marlene beside her muttering words of a very rude nature about Sirius, who was blowing her kisses from across the classroom. Professor Slughorn noticed nothing, not even when James sent a jinx at Edward that induced leeks to sprout of his ears. He turned the shade of a ripe tomato and began storming over to where the Head boy sat, lazily bewitching his potion ingredients to dance into his cauldron. He would have reached him had Lily not gently grabbed his wrist and with a forced smile, vanished the leeks.

Needless to say, Lily was extremely glad that the lesson ended and then immediately began dreading her next class where she would be sitting beside James. Lily forced herself to laugh along with Alice, Dorcas and Julia at Amelia's joke about hippogriffs as in reality her mind was completely elsewhere. Professor Everhart was quick to arrive and let the class in with a slightly preoccupied air. James reached their table first and was already lounging in his seat by the time Lily sat down.

They didn't speak to each other as they unpacked their things, partially because Lily was still too annoyed to trust herself to speak civilly and partially because James was still too eager for the chance to duel (and then win against) Edward to see any form of reason.

Professor Everhart began to speak so neither of the pair were required to engage the other in conversation until about 45 minutes into the lesson when they'd finished copying down notes and were now doing some practice questions. Lily was quite content to work without conversing with anyone but James had other ideas.

'D'you reckon Sirius and McKinnon snogged after we left them?' he asked as they began scribbling their answers down.

'No.' Lily responded shortly. James smirked in her direction and flicked a bit of her hair with the tip of his quill.

'Aw, Lily… Are you angry about the duel?' He laughed lightly.

'Yes.' she replied tersely and kept her gaze determinately on her work.

'It's just a duel. Besides, I get a chance to hex that smarmy git.' James still looked extremely proud of himself.

'You are Head boy!' Lily snapped and then immediately fell silent at her tone of voice. She said nothing else whilst James chortled next to her.

'Head boy?' he asked incredulously. 'You think that means I can't have fun? What's wrong with a duel now and then and staying up after curfew?' When Lily didn't speak, he continued. 'McClaggen deserves everything I throw at him. _You_ should be supporting me – I mean he's your ex and you of all people know how much of a wanker he is.'

'You are such a-' Lily stopped herself, her eyes widening slightly.

' _You think you're funny but you're just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter.'_

'Go on.' James taunted, his face still plastered with an aggravatingly smug smile. 'Say something mean about me. Insult me… I dare you…' His mouth widened its smirk as Lily opened and closed her mouth. Then she snatched up her work and stood up; as she did so, her line of neatly arranged quills fell to the ground and James stooped to catch them before holding them out to her, his face softening into a much kinder expression.

'Can I just say that you two are the cutest couple!' Alice Prewett squealed, having turned around in her seat in time to see James catch the quills for Lily. The Head girl in question simply stood frozen for a few seconds before striding up to the front and handing Professor Everhart her completed practice questions. She then returned to her desk and with a flick of her wand had packed up all of her things, including the quills which zoomed out of James' outstretched hand. Seconds later the bell rang and Lily rushed out of the classroom as the babble of talk, that only occurred when lessons ended, ensued.

James watched her leave with a completely baffled expression and it took three attempts of both Frank and Kingsley saying his name for him to react. He didn't see Lily all break nor did he see her during Transfiguration, which they had 3rd period, and she wasn't in Charms either or in the Great Hall at lunch. James did glimpse Marlene once caring a large mug of soup in one hand and a sandwich, which she was eating, in the other; he asked her if she'd seen the Head girl to which she replied with a very foulmouthed statement wishing him a death by food poisoning. But what bothered James most about Lily's absence was that none of the teachers seemed fazed by the fact that she and Marlene were missing their lessons; in fact, they didn't remark upon it at all, not a single teacher.

By dinner time, James was growing desperate and grabbed a roll before practically sprinting up to his dormitory to retrieve the Marauder's Map. Holding the dog-eared piece of parchment on his knee, James took a deep breath.

'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.' he muttered and at once ink lines began to sprawl across the parchment. His eyes scanned the Map and although his eyes quickly found Marlene in Professor McGonagall's office with the Deputy Headmistress, the little dot labelled Lily Evans was hauntingly non-existent. After searching the Map for a good 5 minutes, James concluded that Lily was definitely missing.

He stood up. His best bet was eavesdropping by Professor McGonagall's office as Marlene usually knew where Lily was and her behaviour earlier definitely suggested she had seen Lily at least after James had. It was a start at the very least.

It didn't take him long to grab his invisibility cloak and run all the way to Professor McGonagall's office. Once outside he covered himself in the cloak and, pressing his ear right against the door, listened closely. At first, he heard nothing except the scraping of a chair, which was presumably Professor McGonagall sitting down, and the distinct sound of Marlene insulting someone.

'He's an idiot. And d'you know what? He's more than just an idiot – he's a brainless git…sorry, Professor…and too thick to string two words together that don't insult everyone around him.' There was a brief pause where someone coughed. 'I wouldn't be that fussed about getting annoyed at him.' James frowned slightly for Marlene's last statement had indicated she was talking to someone but he knew it highly unlikely that she should say something like that to Professor McGonagall.

'But it's not just him…' another voice mumbled. This voice made James' heart leap – Lily! His furrowed brow deepened, however, because her name hadn't appeared on the Map despite her definitely being within the Map's range. 'I – I've been getting so angry lately…'

'And quite rightly so.' Professor McGonagall's voice made James jump slightly. 'Mr Potter should respect his duties as Head boy.'

'He was only considering a duel.' Lily uttered hastily and James felt his insides tighten guiltily – she was lying to prevent him getting into trouble. Marlene evidently knew the actual story for she let out an angry huff but said nothing.

'I was very impressed by your article.' Professor McGonagall informed the two girls, completely changing topic and bewildering James. 'You two have a flare for addressing people's problems.'

'Thanks…' Marlene answered uncertainly and Lily remained silent. Professor McGonagall let out an extremely frustrated sigh and the sound of her shuffling paper was clearly audible from where James stood eavesdropping in the corridor outside.

'Miss Evans, I simply refuse to accept this as a fault on your part and I fully expect you to continue your Head girl duties in the same professional manner you have thus far managed.' There was a loud crash as James leaned too much weight in the door and it burst open sending him flying onto the floor of the office, the invisibility cloak sliding off him. 'Mr Potter, how kind of you to join us.' Professor McGonagall remarked dryly. 'I am pleased to hear you have denounced any possibility of a duel.'

'Um… Y-yes, Professor.' James stuttered, scrambling to his feet.

'I would be extremely grateful if you could escort Miss Evans to Gryffindor Tower. Miss McKinnon, I'd like a word.'

'Of – of course, Professor.'

Lily sent a reassuring smile in Marlene's direction as she followed James out of the office. The Head boy and girl walked in silence, Lily shuffling her feet as they went, and didn't look at one another. As the silence continued, Lily began to hum to herself in order to feel less awkward. Quite subconsciously, she chose the tune of _Build Me Up Buttercup_ and her face became slightly more relaxed. James turned his head slightly to the side and a lopsided grin formed as he observed her absentminded smile.

She seemed to momentarily forget his presence as she did a small skip before remembering James was there and immediately stiffening. But she didn't stop humming.

' _Leave him_ _ **alone**_ _.'_

'I'm sorry about the duel.' James said out of the blue. Lily instantly halted her humming, her eyes widening.

'Hm?'

'I said I'm sorry about the duel – you were right… I'm Head boy and I shouldn't… You know…' James trailed off looking down at his feet.

'It's okay…' she replied quietly, watching a painting of an elderly lady surrounded by cats, all of which were sporting pink silken bows. 'I know you can't back out of it now – Wizard's honour and all that – and I'll make sure no one catches you but… But you have to promise me you _won't_ rise to any of more Edward's comments.'

' _I will if you go out with me, Evans. Go on… go out with me and I'll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again.'_

'I promise.' James responded, looking directly into her emerald eyes. 'But only,' a smirk appeared on his face, 'if _you_ promise to call me James.'

' _I wouldn't go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid.'_

'I… Fine.' Lily held out her hand, which he shook cheerfully.

'You're remarkably calm about the idea of a full-on duel happening in the trophy room.' James pointed out after a little while.

'Marlene could do with a laugh.' she answered with a shrug and shot a cheeky grin in his direction.

' _Bad luck, Prongs.'_

When they returned to the common room, James headed to where the rest of the Marauders sat, heads bent and muttering to one another, and Lily up to her dormitory. Once she entered the dormitory, she glanced around surreptitiously and then, after confirming she was alone, jumped onto her bed, a grin gracing her features. Letting out a small laugh, Lily kicked off her black pumps and threw her bag onto the ground beside her four-poster. She couldn't remember the first time she'd performed this jumping onto her bed but at some point during first year, she'd made it her ritual after a bad day because, somehow, it was guaranteed to bring her joy.

Glancing down at her bag, she saw that some of the contents had spilled out onto the wooden floor. Lily rushed to pack up her things and as she did so, her eyes fell on two envelopes addressed to her. Pausing in her actions, she carefully picked them up and opened the first one.

 _Dear Lily,_

 _Your dad and I already miss you! The house has been so quiet recently and although I do like a bit of peace and quiet, you know that, it can get really boring._ _ **I take offence by that**_ _. Harry's back at university so he hasn't popped in to see us and Olivia's grounded. Did you know about the boy she's been seeing? Your Aunt Harriet's been telling me all about him. Apparently, he's got a lip piercing!_ _ **Heaven forbid!**_ _Well, I can't say I wasn't expecting it to happen sooner or later – Olivia's always was a bit of a wild child. Not like Harry._ _ **Sure, sure.**_

Lily smiled to herself.

 _Of course, it's unfair for me to compare her to her brother but you would hope she'd have a little more common sense._ _ **We all know she doesn't have any.**_ _But enough about that. How are you? I know you've split up with Edward so I'm sure that must be difficult._ _ **According to my sources, he's in the Russian Mafia so don't worry about it**_ _. I remember when I split up with my first boyfriend I spent about 3 consecutive days in my Gran's living room watching the traffic drive past her window and eating stale cake._ _ **I'm glad I wasn't around; your Gran terrified me.**_ _Something tells me you didn't have it quite that bad. Remember, Love, Mr Right will turn up eventually._ _ **What about that James Potter? He seemed alright.**_

 _In other news, you've missed the excitement of the household with Pet's special news. I would tell you but she wrote to you herself and I don't want to spoil it for you._ _ **I expect you to appreciate your Mum's restraint**_ _. What I will say is that it's very exciting!_ _ **And she's already grumpier than usual.**_

 _Are you still coming home for Christmas?_ _ **You'd better be.**_ _You can invite some of your friends for New Year if you want._

 _Lots of love,_

 _Mum_ _ **and Dad**_

Lily laughed at her parents' antics and, with mounting curiosity, turned her attention to the second letter. Opening the envelope, she slid out the piece of paper and began to read the brief text before her.

 _Freak,_

 _I'm having a baby. Just thought I'd let you know so that you don't go near me and curse my baby. And once it's born, don't you dare have anything to do with it – I'm not having you and your freakish ways around my baby._

 _Petunia_

Lily's smile vanished instantly to be replaced by a broken, blank expression. She drew the curtains around her four-poster bed shut and when the rest of her roommates came in an hour later, she pretended to be asleep.

 **Please Review :)**

 **I should probably clarify now that Petunia's baby isn't Dudley. Anyway, what did you guys think of Lily and James' first (kind of) fight in this story and who's looking forward to James duelling with Edward? I am. I'm predicting feelings of satisfaction on my part – but that's just me…**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: It's duel time! Who's excited? I'm excited! I hope you enjoy it!**

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 **Chapter 13: Dueling and Darkness**

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Lily was not one to go back on her word so, at precisely 11.27 pm, she drew back the curtains of her four-poster and slid out for bed. In the pitch black, she felt around for her wand and once her fingers had closed around the familiar piece of wood, she began to stumble her way towards the bed next to hers. After a few moments of wandering blindly in the dark, she reached Marlene's bed and quietly pulled back the hangings. There was a pause in her movements as she strained her ears, listening carefully to the snores and snuffles of her roommates, assessing how deeply asleep the other occupants of the dormitory actually were.

'Marls!' Lily hissed and Marlene jerked awake, pulling up her blankets as she did so.

'What?' she whispered back groggily, covering her eyes as Lily illuminated her wand. 'You look like shit by the way.' Lily was too tired to pretend to be offended and simply rolled her eyes half-heartedly; she had not slept since reading her letters from home, spending the hours between opening them and this exact moment shifting restlessly in her bed.

'The duel should be starting in 30 minutes. Want to watch?'

'Fuck yes!' Marlene exclaimed, jumping out of bed before quickly clamping her hands over her mouth. But the incessant snores around them did not falter. Marlene pulled on a dressing gown and some slippers as Lily hastily transfigured her uniform into a pair of her pyjamas to avoid any awkward questions should Marlene notice this. Once she too had her wand, the two girls crept towards the dormitory door. They had made it undetected but for Nigel's beady eyes, which flickered open, reflecting the wand light, when Marlene stubbed her toe of Mary's bed. He let out a loud mew and hopped out of his basket. Slinking towards them, he purred, walking circles around Lily's legs. She sighed and scooped him up. Nigel purred contentedly and it was clear that he was there to stay. Marlene ruffled the silky fur on his head affectionately and the three of them made their way into the common room.

On the last stair of the girls' staircase, Marlene held Lily back and they waited in absolute silence as Edward slouched past them and out of the portrait hole. Marlene counted a minute before they continued on their way. The corridors were still and void of people with the only noise sounding from their feet against the stone floors and the occasional grumble of a portrait as the blue wand light shone bright in their faces. Despite the empty corridors, both Lily and Marlene clutched their wands like swords before them ready to extinguish the eerie light they cast at any moment. Every shadow loomed like a mutant and every grumble of a portrait sounded like a clap of thunder reverberating around them in comparison to the hush that hung dense in the air.

As they entered the trophy room, Lily, Marlene and Nigel were met by Edward directing his wand towards them. He lowered it upon registering who they were but his expression instantly became sour.

'Come to watch, have you?' he asked bitterly. Edward's eyes flickered in Lily's direction for a moment. 'I suppose you're here to support your _boyfriend_.'

'Oh, sure.' Marlene responded with a snort.

'I'm here on lookout duty.' Lily explained, focusing her gaze on Nigel as she spoke. 'Marlene's here to watch.'

'I haven't decided yet who I want to see fuck up more.' Marlene sighed as though frustrated. She opened her mouth to add something else but was cut off by another voice.

'Well, this looks like a jolly party, eh Prongs?' Sirius drawled from behind them and Marlene whipped around, scowl already fixed in place. 'Eddie!' he cried, pushing past the girls (and an indignant Nigel) to embrace a glowering Edward. 'How's my favourite Gryffindor?'

'Black.' Edward spat, attempting to remove himself from Sirius' tight hug. 'What are _you_ doing here?'

'Me?' Sirius threw back his head and let out a bark of laughter as he let go of Edward. 'Why I thought that much was obvious… Evidently not…'

'He's my second.' James announced, leaning in the doorway of the trophy room. He seemed to be surveying the scene before him with great amusement and when his eyes noticed the ginger kitten cuddled closely into Lily's chest, a small chuckle bubbled out of him. 'Who's yours?' His eyes roved around the room in a dramatic fashion as Edward spluttered furiously. 'No one?'

'I don't need a second!' Edward thundered and James simply raised an eyebrow in response. 'Not against _you_ anyway!' His opponent pretended to look mortally offended just as Sirius ruffled Edwards hair with another loud laugh.

'Well, come on you two scallywags! I'm not getting any handsomer with all this waiting around!' Sirius declared and plonked himself against the far wall looking expectant.

'You weren't even fucking handsome to begin with.' Marlene grumbled and Sirius squealed in delight, as though he had only just noticed her, pulling her close as she cautiously sat down beside him. He was swiftly pushed away and then the two began a struggle due to the fact that Sirius kept attempting to loop his arm around Marlene and she was the less than willing receiver of this pestering.

James stepped further into the room and was about to address Edward when Lily caught his arm.

'Where are Remus and Peter?' she asked him, knowing full well that wherever one of the Marauders went, the others would not be far behind.

'They opted for guarding over duelling.' he replied.

'Oh.' Lily studied his face for a moment. 'Well… Good luck…' And then she left the trophy room, with Nigel still safely held in her arms, to keep watch outside because she did not want to witness the duel regardless of how hilarious Marlene was certain it would be. When she reached the corridor outside, however, there was no sign of anyone anywhere and after a few minutes of peering into the dark, beyond the light emitted from her wand tip, she decided that Remus and Peter must have left because, as far as she could tell, there was absolutely no one there. Then she smiled slightly at a patch of dust on the floor that had just shifted. Settling herself next to the door of the trophy room, Lily sat cross-legged on the floor with Nigel in her lap and extinguished her wand. With the wand light gone, she relied on the moonlight, which shone faintly through the high windows, to reveal anyone to her.

Inside the trophy room, James and Edward took up their duelling stances and stood watching each other through narrowed eyes. Marlene and Sirius stopped struggling, so that they were frozen in their position of Marlene pushing Sirius' arm upwards, and turned to spectate the conflict that was about to ensue. Both opponents bowed low, still keeping eye contact, and produced their wands as they straightened up once more.

'Ladies first.' James murmured, his eyes now mere slits. Sirius' arm slid slowly down the wall as the arm Marlene was using to push it up slackened. Neither of the spectators noticed Sirius' arm land delicately on Marlene's shoulder with her hand holding it because they were too intently focused on how Edward would react. Their heads tilted identically.

Seconds ticked by.

Then, with a sound that resembled that of an angry hippopotamus, Edward brought down his wand in a slicing movement. There was a blinding white flash and James only just dodged the hex sent in his direction. The display cabinet behind him burst and shards of crystal blasted across the room.

'Ooooh, nasty.' James pretended to shiver as he bewitched Edward's legs to dance. His light-hearted tone was misleading, however, as a moment later and he was sending a tirade of stinging hexes at his dancing opponent. With an indignant roar, Edward cast a shield charm and the hexes hit the invisible wall with several resounding gongs. The force of the sound caused the hairs on the back of Marlene's neck to stand on end and she subconsciously clutched tighter onto Sirius' arm, which was still looped around her.

'You…won't…have…her! She's mine!' Edward shouted through gritted teeth and his face split into a mad smile as he enchanted the debris of crystal to fly at James. The shards were like hundreds of little knives that pierced James' skin, prompting blood to trickle in a faint but steady stream. But the Head boy was not so easily beaten. He pointed his wand at Edward, who was grinning triumphantly, and, whilst pretending not to be searing with pain, flicked his wand. Edward, who had gloatingly removed his shield charm, doubled over, clutching at his mouth, as he moaned in agony.

'I think you'd do well to learn,' James began, striding over to where Edward was practically crying out in aching; he grabbed Edward by the collar of his top and forced him to look right at him, 'that _she_ isn't an object and you can't own _her_. You are-' But what Edward was no one in the trophy room found out because he took the opportunity to punch James straight in the nose, causing an unmissable crunching sound, before rushing out of the room, two large front teeth growing painfully out from behind his fingers. James fell back with a thud and he let out a giggly laugh just as his eyes went out of focus and began to flicker shut.

'Prongs!' Sirius shouted, panicked.

'Potter!' Marlene exclaimed at precisely the same time and the two of them rushed over to James, slapping him in the face, and then hoisting him up. They began to heave him out of the trophy room and into the corridor. Lily jumped to her feet at the sight of them and immediately helped support the, slightly giggly, Head boy. Nigel led the way up the corridor like an orange beacon, standing out extremely well against the blueish moonlight. A second later and both Remus and Peter materialised, seemingly out of the air and helped them carry James back to Gryffindor Tower. Once in the common room, Lily, Remus and Marlene set about removing the crystal pieces and healing the wounds, with very basic healing spells, while Sirius and Peter focused on keeping him conscious.

'Right, Prongsie… What something that's red and bad for your teeth?' Sirius asked.

'Wh-what?' James simply looked confused and Sirius laughed.

'A brick!' His face lit up with delight as he continued to cackle. Everyone else, except Lily due to the fact she was attempting to pry out a particularly oddly shaped piece of crystal and was deaf to anything outside her task, fixed him with an incredulous gaze.

'That was the shittest joke I've ever heard.' Marlene informed him scathingly.

'I've got more!' Sirius was positively gleeful at the possibility of sharing so many of his repertoire jokes. 'Did you hear what happened when two vampires met?'

'No, we didn't and no one gives two flying fucks about what happened.' Marlene snapped, clearly not in the mood to humour him.

'Apparently, it was love at first bite!' he cried and looked around expecting applause from his unimpressed audience.

'That doesn't even make sense…' Remus said, furrowing his brow in concentration. 'I mean, why would a vampire bite another vampire?'

'You're all missing the comedy gold! Doesn't anyone find them funny?' Sirius asked, a little pleadingly. As if to answer him, Lily let out a loud chuckle. 'See! Evans, likes my jokes!' Lily, who had been laughing at the fact that the piece of crystal she'd pulled out resembled a pouting her quite spectacularly and had no idea what the others were bickering about, nodded and smiled.

Eventually, they finished healing James and his mind returned to its normal self. The Marauders headed up the boys' staircase and Marlene and Lily climbed the girls' staircase thinking longingly of sleep. Cautiously, they opened the door of their dormitory and crept back into their respective beds. Marlene fell asleep quickly but Lily lay awake, her mind returning to the problems it had been mulling over before she had left for the duel.

After about half an hour of fruitless attempts at falling asleep, Lily got out of bed and padded back out of her dormitory and down the staircase. The common room was almost completely dark, except for the warm glow cast by the dying embers of the once roaring fire and the moonlight passing through the mullioned windows, so she moved towards the fireplace and seated herself in one of the squashy armchairs nearest to it. As soon as she was sat, tears, that had been threatening to fall since the first word of her sister's letter, began to roll, thick and fast, down her cheeks. Lily was not a loud crier unlike some people, Marlene was a good example, who would let out great howls of mournful feelings. She was silent in her lamentation; silence was the best way to disguise emotions.

The time came, in due course, when she had run out of tears to cry and simply began to stare at the small speckles of orange in the fire grate. She was so intent in staring at the glowing ash that she didn't mark the sound of someone coming down the boys' staircase. She didn't hear them enter the common room nor did she note the sudden brightness as they lit their wand. But she did hear their voice. She heard their voice because they spoke to her.

'Having a late night, Evans?' Sirius asked, his voice filled with amusement.

'Wh-oh… Yes…' she mumbled, turning to face him.

'Shit! Are you crying?' Lily shook her head. 'Don't lie to me, Evans.' he chided, with a small smile. 'Your eyes are all red and puffy.'

'You're wrong.' she responded and let out a hollow laugh. 'I _was_ crying but I'm not now.'

'Haha.' he said dryly but grinned none the less.

'Well, what are you doing down here?' Lily questioned as he moved towards her.

'Not going all Head girl on me now, are you?' he retorted teasingly. 'You forget, Evans, you're up late too.'

'I'm just curious.' she responded and threw up her hands in surrender.

'I was going to get some hot chocolate from the kitchens.' Sirius considered her for a moment. 'Want to come?'

'Sure.' Lily smiled at his kindness and stood up. They didn't talk on their way to the kitchens, being too cautious about getting caught by a teacher or Filch the caretaker, and both jumped slightly at the sound of Peeves the poltergeist knocking over a suit of armour as he zoomed along one of the corridors above theirs. Once they reached the kitchens, and Lily tickled the pear to open the entrance, they walked in and it was as though the house elves had already been anticipating their arrival. A section of one of the long wooden tables had been set with steaming mugs of hot chocolate and a few biscuits arranged on a plate. Thanking them warmly, Sirius and Lily sat down and savoured their first sip of the delectable drink that heated their hands and entire insides.

'So, Evans,' Sirius began in a business-like manner, setting down his mug, 'what got you all teary-eyed?'

'I… Well…' Lily swallowed uncomfortably. Sirius' tone of voice matched his determined expression and it was clear she would not be escaping this interrogation. 'I got my letters from home this morning.'

'And?' Sirius prompted, biting into a chocolate biscuit.

'Well, Mum and Dad's letter was fine. I mean, they were just telling me stuff about back home – stuff like my cousin's grounded and all that… But my sister's letter was…um…interesting…' Lily drummed her fingers nervously on the side of her mug.

'Evans, letting it all out is much better than hiding everything.' Sirius informed her with an air of wisdom beyond his years. When Lily said nothing in response, he gestured for her to continue with her explanation.

'Tuney, that's my sister, and I d-'

'Wait, your sister's called Tuney?' Sirius asked, an incredulous note in his voice. 'No offence but that's fucking unfortunate.'

'Oh, no. Her name's Petunia – Tuney's just a nickname.'

'Right… Continue.' Lily took a long sip of her creamy hot chocolate, letting the taste mill in her mouth for a little while, before answering.

'We don't get on very well…um… Tuney thinks I'm a freak for being a witch and she hates that I can do magic. I think it scares her and…I mean…I wasn't expecting her letter to be friendly but it just hurt to read it.' She looked at Sirius hoping that he would be satisfied and move the topic away from their current one. He wasn't.

'And what was in the letter?'

'Tuney's pregnant.' Lily paused but Sirius didn't begin to speak which she took as a sign to elaborate. 'She told me to stay away from her and the baby so – so that I don't curse them.'

'Fuck her, Evans.' Sirius told her, his eyes betraying a flash of anger. 'You're not a freak and everyone knows you'd never curse her kid – or her for that matter.'

'Thanks…' Lily swallowed another mouthful of hot chocolate. 'So, what about you?'

'What about me?'

'Well, most people don't sneak to the kitchens for a hot chocolate if there's nothing wrong.' Lily replied and watched his face shrewdly.

'Couldn't sleep.' he replied with a shrug but as Lily opened her mouth to prompt him to expand his statement, everything came spilling out. 'I was just worrying about Reg – I mean, what if he joins the Death Eaters? I'd be fighting against my own brother and once you join You-Know-Who there's no way you can leave. He's fucked!'

'You can't change people, Sirius.' Lily whispered as his speech came to an end; her voice seemed to crack as she spoke. 'I kidded myself for a long time about that but in the end, we all choose out own path. If your brother joins the Death Eaters then that's his choice. You're not responsible for that.'

'I know… I know…' He sounded so defeated. 'I'm just so tired of chasing after him trying to change his point of view. He never listens but I always tell myself one day he will…'

'Then you've shown him a different option and if he's chosen to ignore it, it's not a fault on your part.' Lily reached out a hand and squeezed his shoulder. 'One day you need to let go…before you've pulled yourself in too deep – it saves a lot of hurt… Trust me…'

'Yeah, I know… He's my younger brother though… What kind of older brother am I if I don't protect him?' He ran a hand through his hair.

'You can't protect him from everything.' Lily said, looking him directly in the eyes.

'And it's ruddy McKinnon as well!' he suddenly burst out and although Lily appeared slightly taken aback, a trace of amusement flickered in her emerald eyes. 'She's just so-'

'I know you like her.' Lily interrupted but Sirius shook his head.

'Fancying doesn't even cut it... D'you remember the Potions lesson we had where we finished our Amortentia potions?' Lily nodded. 'Well, when I passed your potion I smelt her – it was that ruddy peach body spray she always wears. I've always been kind of attracted to her – most blokes are – b-' Sirius broke off at the sight of Lily letting out a faint, but distinct, chuckle. She had tried, she really had, to remain serious but a second later and a bundle of laughs erupted out of her; they started as a low rumble but she was soon clutching her stomach as she cackled. Sirius was watching her warily. 'I know it's stupid…'

'N-no – no…' Lily was struggling to speak through her chortles. 'It's not t-that.' Sirius waited for Lily to recover herself and elaborate. 'It-it's that she smelt you in her potion.'

'She what?' Sirius' face was nothing but shock. 'So – so she…you know…'

'Yup.' Lily smiled and drained the last of her hot chocolate.

'Right.' Sirius stood up, a gigantic grin plastered across his face. 'When I next see her I'm just going to grab her face and snog the living daylight out of her.'

'Don't do that!' Lily said, panic etched in her expression and voice. But Sirius was already skipping towards the door. 'Shit.' Lily said to herself before rushing after him.

 **Please Review :)**

 **What did you think? Did you enjoy the duel? Who won? And what about Sirius? Should he snog Marlene or not?**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Happy Christmas (for tomorrow)! To those who don't celebrate Christmas, have a great day tomorrow! My present to you lot is this chapter so I hope you like it! I hope you enjoyed last chapter and thank you for the lovely reviews!**

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 **Chapter 14: Intimacy and Intrepidity**

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Although Sirius seemed to have no qualms with his approach to wooing Marlene, Lily spent the whole of her Tuesday as a nervous and tired wreck. Every time she saw him that day he would wink at her while her stomach did an unpleasant and apprehensive flip; so far during the day, however, he had had no chance to seek a private conference with Marlene which did little to sooth Lily's insides. The Gryffindor team had their first practice of the year after dinner, providing ample opportunity for Sirius to be with Marlene, and Lily would, of course, not be present. The latter proved to be false, however, as Marlene insisted she would need company on the way to practice (not to mention the way back as well).

'How many fizzing whizzbees d'you reckon I can fit in my mouth?' Marlene asked as she and Lily made their way across the Hogwarts grounds.

'Um… 20.' Lily replied after considering Marlene for a moment.

'Challenge accepted.' Seemingly out of nowhere, she produced a bulging back of the sweets in question and handed Lily her broomstick so she could begin to pile the multicoloured delights into her mouth. While she attempted to reach her target, Lily's wary eyes began to search the dark grounds around them for any sign of Sirius. It was as though she was expecting him to spring out at them at any moment and grab Marlene's fizzing whizzbee filled face. 'IHESNTWENSJDIGHE!'

'Hm?' They both stopped as Marlene bent over and began spitting out the sweets.

'I got 25! Fucking 25!' She did a small dance, carefully avoiding the pile of mushy sugar paper. Lily vanished it hastily with her wand as some of the pile began to fizz pathetically. 'They started fizzing in my mouth and bloody hell! 25 fucking fizzing sweets in your mouth is fucking awful!'

'I heard a rumour that their pulling 5th and 7th years out of lessons to face boggarts next week.' Lily told her best friend after a moment's silence between them. She watched the trees nearby, with her eyes narrowing in suspicion, in case Sirius was crouched behind them just waiting to leap out.

'See, I told it would pay to be best mates with the Head girl.' Marlene replied, looping an arm around her and gesturing to the horizon as though it showed a future filled with positive outcomes. Lily's lips curved into a smile, though she continued to scan their surroundings. 'I get all the rumours from headquarters.' She poked Lily's forehead.

'Apparently, it's supposed to help our stress – by seeing what we're scared of we can think of how to confront this fear.' Lily flicked her wand so that the tip illuminated with blueish light. 'I'm not sure it'll help… Unless your fear's exam related I suppose…'

'True, but I'm pretty sure my biggest fear isn't McGonagall yelling at me for failing – if it was, you know she'd be in that tartan dressing gown. If you see McGonagall in that, you know she's gonna fuck shit up.' Marlene said, shaking her head sombrely.

'Or you're out of bed out of hours and about to get detention.' Lily conceded as they reached the Quidditch pitch which was filled with a golden, and artificial, light. Some of the Gryffindor team were already outside the changing rooms, including James and Sirius, so the two girls made their way over. As they approached, the faces of both boys lit up identically and Lily watched them apprehensively.

'Lily!' James greeted with obvious delight. Sirius winked at her and then looked pointedly at Marlene. The Head girl stood frozen for a few seconds while she evaluated her situation. Deciding her best option was to act as though there wasn't a huge probability that her best friend could be spontaneously snogged by their soul mate who they also happened to hate, she smiled at James.

'Hello, James.'

'Planning on joining the team?' he asked, eyeing Marlene's broomstick, which, Lily realised, was still in her grasp. 'Or are you in need of some private tutoring?' James wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and Lily shifted awkwardly. Behind her, Sirius and Marlene were sniggering quietly.

'Um…' Lily cleared her throat uncomfortably; there was a definite rouge appearing on her cheeks. 'I was just being – being helpful.' She looked down at the broomstick in her hand. 'Helping people is good…' Lily trailed off lamely and hastily handed the broomstick back to Marlene, who took it with an evil smile in place. Stewart, the Gryffindor Keeper, arrived and he nodded at James before letting his eyes rove over Lily. She didn't notice, however, although James certainly did because he stiffened considerably. The tension was lessened, luckily, by Sirius.

'Don't think she does toy boys, mate.' he called jokingly, taking the Quaffle out of its container and throwing it at the young Keeper, who caught it easily.

'Right.' James said, loudly, shaking himself mentally. 'Let's get started.'

Lily took that as her cue to leave the pitch and went to find a seat in the stands. She had brought her school bag with her for something to do while she witnessed the truly fascinating Quidditch practice. While the scarlet clad figures ran a lap of the pitch, clutching their brooms over their shoulders, she produced the latest Agony Aunt article she and Marlene had been working on. The advertisement they had placed on the Gryffindor notice board had been duplicated and put in all the House common rooms and so far, the two girls had received a small but steady stream of problems. Out of the dozen or so letters sent to them, Lily and Marlene had sorted them into which problems were more pressing and needed urgent addressing. At present the issues were generally quite menial, limited to boy trouble or perhaps arguments with friends, so Marlene hadn't been so thrilled at the prospect of replying to them but, as Lily pointed out, their readers would not send in larger, more troubling, problems until they were certain of _Dear Cat_ 's confidence.

She opened one of the envelopes just as the last of the Gryffindor team returned to where James stood, having done his lap the fastest, instructing them to collect their brooms and kick off into the air. The writing on the parchment Lily pulled out was bubbly and had a love heart instead of a dot on the letter _i_.

 _Dear Cat,_

 _I've liked this boy for the longest time but I don't know if he likes me back. I don't know what to do and I always get so nervous around him. Please help!_

 _A terrified Hogwarts female_

Lily tilted her head in thought before beginning to pen her response. She considered Marlene's predicament as she wrote and as she did so, her gaze returned to the pitch. However, Marlene and Sirius were both too focused on their practice session and whacking the Bludgers to think about anything else. With a shake of her head, Lily returned to her work and pulled her coat tighter as a late September breeze whistled its way through the air and ruffled the feathers of her quill.

James scored a goal and looked smugly in Lily's direction, his hand ready to run through his hair. But she wasn't paying attention to the goings on of the pitch. Instead, Lily continued to scribble away and his face displayed slight disappointment. However, it didn't stay long for he was distracted by a Bludger flying a centimetre past his nose.

'Alright! WHO HIT THAT?' he yelled, crossly and turning his broom around to glower at the two Beaters, who, for the first time ever, were clutching each other and laughing heartily. James momentarily forgot his anger as it was replaced by shock at the scene before him.

'Whoops.' Sirius gasped through his snorts.

'Sorry, Captain.' Marlene said, calmly enough but her eyes clearly sparkled with mirth. 'We just felt your attention was wandering to…other things.' She winked at him before dissolving once more into a torrent of cackles. The Gryffindor Captain was not amused but he was prevented from flying towards them and cuffing them both on the head by the Gryffindor Seeker, who hurtled past him in hot pursuit of the Golden Snitch. He waited until the ball was securely in the Seeker's grasp before calling the whole team over to where he hovered.

'Everyone in!' 6 players flew towards him and then they began to embark on some team drills.

An hour later and James announced the practice session to be over. Upon hearing this, the team raced one another to the changing rooms and Lily began to pack up her things. She glanced warily in Sirius' direction, he and Marlene were talking animatedly about something or other, and decided she could afford to gather her stuff at a slower speed than she had anticipated. As she replaced the letter in its envelope, a shadow fell across her. Looking up, she saw James hanging upside-down on his broomstick and smirking at her.

'So, Lily, inspired to start flying?' he asked, nudging her.

'Is that safe?' she questioned, completely ignoring his inquiry as he unhooked one of his legs and fixing him with an anxious expression.

'Sure, it is.' James replied casually but rolled himself back onto the broom in an upright position as Lily's expression remained the same. 'I could teach you myself.'

'Heights really aren't my thing.' Lily responded, hoisting her bag over her shoulder. She began to make her way towards the staircase and James flew along beside her.

'The stands are high up.' James pointed out as they began to descend towards the pitch.

'The stands are a solid object.' Lily answered instantly. 'I trust them to stop me falling.'

'I'd catch you if you fell.' James said. There was something in the way he spoke that made Lily's cheeks heat up. She directed her gaze to the changing room door and hoped James hadn't noticed anything.

'Th-that's good to know…' she mumbled. Marlene and Sirius left the changing room and began making their way back to the castle. Lily quickened her pace, James still flying beside her, as she stepped onto the pitch but made sure to keep her distance.

'Well, at least let me take you flying at some point.' James said a grin playing about his features. He jumped off his broom and began to walk beside Lily instead.

'Sounds good.' Lily agreed absently and nodded vaguely as her focus remained on the two figures in front of them.

'Really?' James checked, his voice filled with euphoria.

'Yeah…' Lily replied, still with no idea what she was saying due to the fact that up ahead Sirius had put his hand on Marlene's arm. She flung out an arm to halt James as she carefully watched her best friend's reaction. Marlene had frozen and was simply staring at Sirius' hand as though it was something she'd never seen before.

'Wha-oh.' James fell silent and both Heads stood there subconsciously linking hands with anticipation. There was a minute where nothing happened, although Sirius was murmuring something to Marlene which caused her eyes to widen. Her mouth fell open so that she resembled a goldfish over the 17-year-old witch she actually was. Lily's grip on James' hand was tight and while she didn't notice she was even holding it - James did and his insides filled with a sudden warmth despite the slightly chilly September air.

Then, Sirius moved his head towards Marlene. To Lily's great relief, he leaned forwards slowly so that if Marlene wanted she could pull away. But she didn't. The two's lips met and Lily let out a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding.

Seconds ticked by and it was a long time before Sirius and Marlene broke apart. The nervous smiles on both their faces made Lily want to let out a laugh of delight but she held it in – for obvious reasons. She looked up at James with happiness etched on every inch of her own face and he grinned back at her savouring the moment between them.

'Let's not tell them we know.' Lily whispered to him and he nodded as Sirius and Marlene made their way back up to the castle high on their own ecstasy. They waited for a moment and Lily found her head resting on James; realising this, she hastily stepped back and relinquished her hold on his hand as she did so. The warmth inside James vanished.

* * *

September faded into October and with the new month came the prospect of facing a boggart. Although Marlene didn't seem particularly fazed by this notion, she had been spending her days in a happy daze, Lily was intensely apprehensive about coming face to face with her greatest fear. In fact, she had taken to concealing her wand up her sleeve, ready for any confrontation. A slightly jumpy nature had also taken a hold which was not improved by a letter sent to her from her cousin Henry saying he had visited their grandmother to find she was spying on her neighbours claiming she'd seen them smuggling dynamite into their garage. This dynamite had then apparently located itself into her fridge, though Henry made sure to add that this revealed itself to be mould. The fact that Lily's grandmother managed to confuse a fungus for an explosive powder did little to combat her mounting nerves.

Marlene on the other hand was completely at peace with the world. _Something_ had made her filled with an unending ecstasy and every time she told Lily a farfetched excuse as to why she couldn't hang out that evening a small smile would interrupt Lily's practically permanent frown. Unbeknownst to her, Lily and James knew about her kiss with Sirius and both of them knew the exact reason as to why they would disappear several evenings a week. In company, Sirius and Marlene would display a purely platonic relationship but the reduction in their bickering did not go unnoticed by the school population. Rumours ran wild, spurred on by the outrageous suggestions insinuated to the correct people by an extremely smug James Potter, and Lily soon took to only using the Prefects' bathroom to avoid the scandalous topic of her best friend's sex life being discussed in every girls' toilet across the school.

But the school's rumour mill was not enough to distract her from her inevitable confrontation. On their patrols together, James had attempted to cheer her up but found himself faced with a Lily in survival mode, who therefore wouldn't laugh at anything, her eyes constantly searching, waiting for her fear to reveal itself. And then eventually the fateful day arrived. Lily was working in Care of Magical Creatures with Remus, who looked quite sickly after the recent full moon, and labelling a diagram of a Mooncalf when a breathless first year arrived and handed Professor Kettleburn, their subject teacher, a note summoning Lily to the Headmaster's office. A murmur ran through the class, a few people having already faced their boggarts, and Remus shot her a reassuring smile before she packed up her things, a grim smile in place, and made her way up to the castle.

In the Entrance Hall, she bumped into James, who had also been received his summons. Together they trudged up the staircase to the upper floors and, in complete silence, headed in the direction of Professor Dumbledore's rooms. James fiddled with his sleeve, he was not one for awkward silences, and it was almost as though Lily sensed his discomfort for she began to hum. Despite her worry about what she would soon be facing, her expression became a little relaxed as the tune of Elton John's Your Song left her lips. James tilted his head so that his eyes took in the female beside him; he smiled slightly at the sight of Lily's face cease to show any worry.

'Can you sing as well?' he asked with an amused tone. Lily started and a pink flush appeared on her cheeks as she fell silent.

'Sorry.' she mumbled.

'Wh-oh.' James' face flitted with sudden anxiousness. 'No! I didn't mean…'

'How's your day been so far?' Lily attempted to change topic to help James feel less apologetic. It must have worked because he let out a small chuckle at her benign interest in regards to his potential answer.

'Alright. Not too exciting. You?' Lily, who had paid little heed to her surroundings during the course of the day due to her apprehension, deliberated her response for a moment.

'Great,' she replied, nodding firmly, 'but I'm glad it's last period.'

'Same. Then again, this is currently my free period so technically the school day's already ended for me.' James ran a hand through his unkempt hair and his smile became quite smug.

'A free during Friday last period?' she confirmed incredulously and he bowed his head in confirmation. 'Lucky you!'

'That's one of my many traits. Handsome, talented, charismatic and exceptionally lucky.' James slipped his hands into his pockets and his usual swagger seemed to extenuate ever so slightly. Lily's lips twitched upwards but she forced herself to keep a straight face.

'Not modesty, however.' Lily pointed out jokingly. Surprise was evident on the Head boy's face as he processed her jest and suddenly Lily's expression returned to its anxious state worried she'd offended him. Then James threw back his head and laughed. His laugh was remarkably loud and rung around the corridor they walked through, bouncing off the many statues and suits of armour; it filled Lily's head and induced a sort of daze across the entirety of her brain as her insides began to warm contentedly. There was something so joy evoking about watching him chortle and caused a smile to creep into her face as she observed him.

He only ended his laughing when they reached the great stone gargoyle that guarded Professor Dumbledore's study. Being the Head boy and girl, they already knew the password and spoke it without a moment's hesitation.

'Custard Cream.' they said in unison and the gargoyle moved to reveal a great revolving staircase. The two of them trod onto the first step and waited for the staircase to bring them up to the landing outside the office door. Once there, Lily knocked briefly and they were instantly granted entry.

Professor Dumbledore's office was a marvellous room; it was circular and the walls nearest the door lined entirely with thick old leather-bound volumes that made Lily's eyes travel across the shelves eagerly. By the large windows, which overlooked the Lake, was a long table sporting several silver instruments, only a few of which Lily could name, that whirred and buzzed quietly. Some of the instruments let out occasional puffs of smoke that quickly dissipated into the surrounding air. Lily watched them curiously for a moment but her attention drifted back to the books before too long. The sound of ruffling feathers brought Lily's gaze to the brilliantly scarlet bird stood proudly on a golden perch beside the Headmaster's desk. The bird, a phoenix by the name of Fawkes, was absolutely beautiful with orangey gold tail feathers and miniscule bright royal blue feathers surrounding its beady black eyes.

A cough from James rekindled Lily's senses and she faced the Headmaster as her face turned a colour rivalling that of Fawkes' plumage.

'S-sorry, Professor.' she stammered as James smirked. He had been in this office so many times the novelty had most definitely worn off.

'No apology required, Miss Evans. My office doesn't receive nearly enough admirers – Fawkes and my book collection in particular.' His piercing blue eyes sparkled with amusement and Lily looked at the parquet floor in embarrassment. 'Now, to business.' Professor Dumbledore rose from behind his desk and Lily's worries returned in full as she suddenly remembered why she was in the Headmaster's study. She, James and Professor Dumbledore moved towards a large trunk and the two 17-year-olds watched it warily although James less so than Lily. Then the Headmaster walked towards the trunk and stood behind it with his wand pointed at the lid ready to open it, unleashing the horror within. 'Usually, I would say ladies first but in this scenario, I believe it would be best if Mr Potter goes first.' Lily took this as her cue to step back and a second later the trunk lid creaked open. James rolled up his sleeves and held his wand steady before him, ready for what was about to face him.

A hooded figure climbed first out of the trunk but was soon followed by James himself. The real James braced himself, his mind racing with possible ways to make the boggart comical. Even as he thought, the two figures stood apart and the hooded one revealed themselves. Underneath the hood was a face that seemed to flit between four separate identities: Sirius, Remus, Peter and Lily. As the boggart James turned its back on the hooded figure, the identity shifting form produced a long sword, which glinted threateningly, and flung it straight at its fellow boggart shape. The boggart James keeled over, blood pouring out of where the sword was plunged into its back and Lily watched horror-struck as it burrowed itself deeper into the wound causing more scarlet liquid to spurt out. James meanwhile screwed up his focus and pointed his wand directly at the hooded figure.

' _Riddikulus_!' he shouted and there was a split second where nothing happened before the stabbed James sprung up and did a cheeky wink, pulling the sword out of him. The hooded figure separated into its four identities and, alongside boggart James, bowed deeply as roses seemed to be thrown at them from nowhere. There was the sound of cheering and Lily looked in the direction of the wall behind the Headmaster's desk at the collection of portraits of old Headmasters and Headmistresses that hung there, who were all clapping in approval – all except one who raised an eyebrow. This Headmaster had a pointed black beard and an intelligent face, who, although he looked unimpressed, Lily suspected reflected his endorsement in this distant manner.

'Excellent, Mr Potter.' Professor Dumbledore congratulated and James grinned back. He walked around to where the Headmaster stood so Lily could have a clear spot to face her own boggart. Lily moved reluctantly into the space and watched at boggart James, Sirius, Remus, Peter and herself took their final bow before there was a loud crack and they vanished.

James watched interestedly, wondering what the boggart could possibly transform into. He considered what he knew of Lily and began guessing her possible greatest fear. Some of his imaginings were: giving in to to those who called her a Mudblood, failing her NEWTs, her parents dying and death eaters.

But what replaced James' boggart was not a test paper marked T for Troll or one hundred people chanting 'Mudblood' nor was it the lifeless bodies of Mr and Mrs Evans, rather before its real counterpart stood another boggart Lily with the same absentminded smile she usually wore. There was a moments silence as Lily considered the boggart cautiously. And then the boggart's hair turned blonde. Lily's eyes began to widen slowly as the boggart turned more horse like in its face and then suddenly it was completely bony with a cold expression fixed in place. The boggart's clothes transformed too into a blouse and pencil skirt so that it was no longer Lily but Lily's sister Petunia.

Lily stood stock still, her skin draining of colour, her lip trembling. The tight grasp around her wand revealed her shaking body and her eyes filled with obvious terror. James made to move forwards but Professor Dumbledore held out a hand. He halted and watched as Lily shifted her stance and spoke with a voice betraying nothing but absolute calm and control.

' _Riddikulus._ ' she said softly and instantly the boggart transformed into a horse in a wedding dress being married to a walrus in a tuxedo. The scene was made even more bizarre as the vicar revealed themselves to be Lily's cousin Henry, who began to read from a small leather book in a loud droning voice. Lily couldn't help herself – she let out a loud chuckle and then clamped a hand to her mouth in an attempt to stop the flow of laughter trying to burst out of her. If the portraits had been impressed by James' spell work it was nothing compared to how they reacted to Lily; most stood up as they applauded and began to cheer loudly. Even the wizard with the pointed beard nodded at her and clapped quietly.

'And that concludes our meeting.' Professor Dumbledore said over the continued jubilation as he guided Henry, the walrus and the horse into the trunk and slammed the lid shut. 'You two did very well.' He smiled at them and the Head boy and girl thanked him before leaving the office.

 **Please Review :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Happy new year and welcome back! We've got a bit of Lily and James time coming up so I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

 **Chapter 15: Confessions of a Personal Kind**

* * *

The sky outside the castle had become a dark inky black but despite the obvious lateness of the hour, two 7th years were cosied up on the tallest Astronomy Tower. They did not watch the stars, however, even though it was a clear night with thousands of sparkling diamonds suspended in the black abyss. Instead, they were far more interested in continuing their intimate embrace and wrapping themselves together to tightly it was hard to identify which limbs belonged to which individual. Their exchange of 80 million microbes ended as the shorter of the two pulled back.

'What is it?' the other asked concernedly. Their companion didn't answer, simply staring at them with wide, slightly terrified, eyes that reflected the stars in the sky above. It was almost as though they had awoken from a trance and as they stood up and staggered backwards, fear was evident in their trembling fingers. A split second later and they had rushed down the Astronomy Tower's staircase, their echoing footsteps drowned out by the taller 7th year calling their name into the night.

* * *

Lily awoke at a little past midnight positive she could hear someone moving around in the dormitory. Her hand fumbled for her wand and upon finding it, she illuminated its tip and peered bleary-eyed through the gap in her hangs at the area lit by her wand light. But there was no one save for Nigel, who had decided to prowl around the floorspace. She sighed and rested her head once more on her cushion. Lily attempted to fall back asleep but after 20 minutes of fruitless counting sheep she resigned herself to a night of sitting wide awake in the common room. Climbing out of bed, she tugged at her duvet and dumped it around her shoulders before heading out of the dormitory and down the girls' staircase into the common room.

If Lily had hoped for solitude in the silent common room she was disappointed for a male in glasses sat in her favourite squashy armchair watching the fire slowly burn itself into nothing. It was a strange site for Lily, almost as though she was observing herself whenever she came down into the common room late at night. However, tonight James occupied her usual role and she moved cautiously towards him, still draped in her duvet, her shadow having spectacular resemblance to a mutant. She decided against announcing herself and simply sat down in front of the armchair.

'Sickle for your thoughts?' Lily asked into the still atmosphere causing James to jerk violently in shock. She bit back a laugh sensing it wouldn't be appropriate in the present scenario.

'How long've you been sitting there?' James questioned, massaging his neck with one hand and with the other nervously running through his untameable hair.

'Not long.' Lily responded with a small shrug. His eyes took in her floral-patterned pyjamas and slightly messy hair as she began fiddling slightly with her duvet. 'So… Is there a particular reason you're down here?'

'Not really…' James' voice was distant and Lily immediately saw through his comment. She studied him for a moment pondering whether she should wait for him to speak or not. It soon became clear that James had no inclination to elaborate as he began to pull at a loose thread in the upholstery of his armchair.

'You can tell me, you know.' Lily told him quietly. She reached out a hand and placed it over James' larger one, squeezing it in comforting fashion. The dwindling firelight danced in his hazel eyes as he stared at her hand.

'I was… I was just thinking about my parents.' he admitted after what seemed like years of silence. Tears glistened in his eyes but he blinked them furiously away, determined not to cry in front of Lily. Although Lily pretended as though she hadn't seen them, she fixed him with a soft expression.

'Sounds like you could do with a hug.' she said and without waiting for him to respond she stood up and moved towards him before wrapping her arms around his neck. James didn't react for moment but them stood up also and held her close to him allowing her warmth to comfort him. With his face hidden, he allowed a few tears to fall and Lily smiled into his chest in satisfaction as she thought she felt a few droplets of water make contact with her pyjama top.

'I was just thinking about how I'll never hear their voices again…' he confessed into her deep red hair. Despite how depressed he'd been before she'd arrived, Lily's presence acted like a warrior charging at the negative thoughts replacing them with her own special brand of bliss as she went. 'I'll never hear my dad telling my mum all about the latest Puddlemere game for hours on end even though he knew she hated Quidditch or my mum nagging me about my hair or both of them laughing at the pranks I've pulled.'

Lily wasn't sure whether she should say something or not, so she settled for hugging him a little tighter. She rested her head on his chest and turned it so she could listen to the beating of his heart.

'They didn't even live to see me get Head boy; I never heard their reactions to my badge.' James sniffed loudly.

'I'm sure they would've been proud.' Lily reassured him and looked up at his saddened face.

'I suppose… But I'll never know…' He looked down at the red headed female, who was smiling sadly at him, and felt his insides leap slightly.

'I never told my grandad I was a witch.' she said quietly and guilt crossed her face. 'It's one of my biggest regrets…' Lily's face darkened slightly as though she had evoked some other recollections with her confession. James received the sudden desire to cradle her in his arms forever but she stepped back, relinquishing her hold on him, and stooped to pick up her duvet from the floor. Wrapping it around herself, she moved away from James and towards one of the further red sofas. She slumped down onto it and turned her head away.

'Lily?' James asked concernedly and made his was tentatively towards her. She didn't react, not even when he sat down beside her and turned her head gently to face him. There was a hint of darkness in her usually bright emerald eyes that flickered menacingly. She did not seem to see him, James noted, but stared unblinkingly at a point just a little past his head. 'Lily…' he said much more softly and with his thumb gently stroked her cheek. Whatever had overcome her vanished in an instant as she started and fixed him with a confused expression.

'James?' Her befuddlement ended quickly as she took in her companion and the dark room around her. 'I…'

'You alright?' he inquired concernedly.

'Oh, yes, I'm fine.' she replied in a high-pitched voice and began to bite her lip nervously.

'You're lying.' James accused and a small smile graced Lily's features.

'I just reminded myself of something…'

'Snivellus?'

'Don't call him that!' Lily scolded upon instinct and immediately sank in embarrassment. 'Sorry… I guess old habits die hard…' James chuckled slightly and, at the sound of his laughter, she relaxed slightly. 'I wish we were still friends sometimes.'

'You're not missing out on much.'

'Severus wasn't always the – the way he is now.' Lily had pulled her head gently out of James' grip and faced the dying fire; it was almost completely extinct now with only a few embers glowing red hot. 'We were childhood friends and he was the one who told me all the strange things I could do were magic. My sister labelled me a freak for being a witch so when my close relationship with her ended, Severus was there for me and we grew really close. When we got to Hogwarts, Severus befriended the wrong crowd and we slowly began to grow distant. Every time he was with me he seemed the same Severus I'd known for years and I could forget everything he did with his other friends. I'd kid myself he was only ever the victim – it was easy with you picking fights with him all the time – and that every he hurt someone that it was only out of defence.' Lily felt James put a comforting arm around her. 'Of course, 5th year woke me up to reality.'

'That was partially my fault…' James mumbled and Lily turned to look at him.

'Not really… You shouldn't have done it but he said _Mudblood_ all on his own.' Lily lifted his chin so that his hazel eyes gazed directly into her emerald ones.

'But I humiliated him… If he hadn't been so humiliated he probably wouldn't have called you _that_.' James' voice was full of shame but he didn't tear his eyes away from Lily's; there was something about them that made him keep his gaze locked with hers.

'And he'd called others that so many time before. What made me any different from the Muggle-borns he insulted?' She let out a hollow laugh.

'It made me so mad when he called you _that_. I wanted to rip his head off right there and then…'

'I'm glad you didn't.' Lily said in a slightly amused tone. 'I don't hate him for it anymore… I never really have but I know we can't be friends… We're on two separate paths now… He chose his a long time ago…'

'I don't understand how he could do that to you… That'd be like me calling Remus a monster…'

'You had a completely different upbringing to him.' Lily reasoned. She would have glanced away but something inside her willed her to keep eye contact with James. 'Severus' views aren't entirely unexpected considering-'

'Sirius was brought up to hate Muggle-borns and look where he is now.' James pointed out but Lily shook her head.

'That's not the same thing… Severus' father Tobias is a Muggle and his mother Eileen is a pureblood. Tobias is an abusive drunk and Severus never had a happy childhood. I suppose it's not unreasonable that Severus has a hatred of Muggles – and Muggle-borns – after seeing his pureblood mother being abused by his Muggle father and being beaten himself on several occasions as well.' James was silent. 'I'd appreciate if you didn't tell anyone this…'

'Of course.' James said after a moments silence. The last of the fire's embers extinguished and the common room was thrown into complete darkness. Lily stifled a yawn.

The Head boy and girl awoke hours later as the early morning sun streamed through the windows and tickled their faces. Lily woke first and looked around, tousle haired and still half asleep, taking a few minutes to realise her head was on James' shoulder with his head on hers so when she cautiously removed herself from under his protective arm he gained consciousness immediately. She smiled sheepishly and he grinned back.

'What time is it?' he asked.

'Not sure – I don't have a watch on.' They glanced at the window and saw the sunlight was still faint – it was early then. The dawn chorus was already in full swing and Lily walked over to the window and opened it so the twittering drifted into the common room also. She inhaled deeply as though the morning air was an exquisite perfume and James watched her with a lopsided smile. 'It's been raining.' Was all she said and made her way back to the sofa to collect her duvet. Then she headed towards the girls' staircase.

'O wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?' James asked dramatically and Lily turned around at him wide eyed. It took her a while to process the fact that James Potter knew Shakespeare and once she had, she decided she might as well play along.

'What satisfaction canst thou have t-' She would have added the word _tonight_ but then remembered it was in fact morning. James wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and she felt a slight blush rise in her cheeks. Lily shook her head exasperatedly and began to make her way up the staircase.

'Not even a kiss for the Head boy?' James called after her. 'That's cold, Lily. That's cold. Shakespeare would not approve.' Lily simply waved her hand in response and continued up the staircase. James grinned to himself for a moment before making his own way up to the 7th year boys dormitory. Once at the door, he cautiously prised it open. There were only two beds vacant in the snore filled dormitory: his own and Sirius' were both absent of their usual occupants. At the sight of Sirius' empty and definitely unslept in bed James frowned and headed over to his bedside drawer. Pulling it open, James pulled out the Marauders' Map and began to scan it for his adopted brother's labelled dot. He found it easily moving in zigzags along the Charms corridor and hastened to get dressed. Grabbing his wand, he hurried back down into the common room where, to his surprise, he bumped into Lily again. She too looked shocked at the sight of him and nearly dropped the bag of toiletries she was carrying.

'James!' she said after a moment and then grinned. 'We meet again.'

'Indeed, Miss Evans.' James bowed low. 'Headed to the Prefects' bathroom I assume.'

'Correct.'

'Perhaps I can accompany you?' he suggested and she nodded. They climbed out of the portrait hole and began to walk through the corridors without speaking. Lily was still in her pyjamas and now in the morning light James smiled slightly at the sight of them. She wore a white top with the words _my weapon is my wit_ across it and the pyjama bottoms were patterned with winged books that zoomed around the fabric. Her slippers were fluffy but plain and she shuffled along in them seemingly at ease despite the fact she was parading around the school in her nightwear.

It didn't take long for them to reach the Prefects' bathroom and James bid farewell before continuing on his way to the Charms corridor. Sirius was still present when he arrived though he no longer meandered about the vicinity and now slumped against the wall nursing down a gulp of firewhisky which was clearly not his first of the day. Spotting his fellow Marauder, James rushed over to him and tugged at the large, nearly empty, bottle in his hand. Sirius' drunken grip was weak so James easily confiscated it.

'Prongsie?' Sirius hiccupped loudly.

'How long have you been here?' James asked, attempting to bring Sirius to his feet. Sirius tapped his nose conspiratorially and made an entirely misaimed lunge for the firewhisky. Instead of obtaining the bottle he managed to whack James hard in the stomach and the Head boy let out a grunt of pain. 'C-come…on…' He began to heave Sirius, who had playfully put all his weight onto his sober companion with a small giggle, along the corridor.

'Oh, you're so boring!' Sirius slurred as James continued doggedly back to Gryffindor Tower. 'SO FUCKING BORING!' he yelled, abruptly adjusting his volume to that of someone wishing to wake the whole castle. The surrounding portraits all winced.

'What the fuck is wrong with you?' James snapped, stopping and shaking him roughly. 'D'you want McGonagall after us?'

'I'm great, Prongs!' Sirius declared loudly and detached himself from James. He did a small twirl in front of him. 'Fucking fantastic! I'M A SINGLE MAN ONCE MORE!' There was a mad glint in his grey eyes and James watched him worriedly as he staggered sideways. Snatching the bottle from James once more, he downed the remaining contents and did a small bow. 'Minnie can have as much of this as she wants.' He stumbled slightly but then grinned darkly. 'AND SO CAN ANYONE IN THE FUCKING WORLD!' Sirius shouted out into the corridor and brandished the empty firewhisky bottle before him. 'I'M A FREE MAN!'

'Pads…' James caught Sirius as he tripped over his own feet and fell forwards. He looked up at him with his eyes glistening with tears. Then, he blinked and they were gone. Knocking the bottle against the side of James' head, he let out a bark of laughter.

'Cheers.' he said and threw the bottle towards the floor so that it shattered, a few drops of amber liquid trickling onto the flooring. 'Where's Evans?' Sirius asked out of the blue as James helped him stand.

'Prefects' bathroom.' James replied without thinking and then blushed after realising how strange it sounded that he knew exactly where Lily was. 'Why?'

'I want to talk to Evans.' Sirius said with the air of a small child who deemed themselves on an important mission. James sighed slightly.

'Fine… But no more drink and no more shouting.' He put on his best Head boy voice and attempted to look imposing – a feat which failed as Sirius giggled at his act. It took several minutes to reach the end of the corridor, partially because Sirius continued his incessant giggling and partially because he kept skipping circles around James which tested his patience considerably. Only when James threatened to levitate Sirius the rest of the way did he sober slightly and walk normally. Progress towards the Prefects' bathroom was much faster once James wasn't chasing after a wildly cackling Sirius and they reached their destination soon after leaving the Charms corridor.

' _Endovelicus_.' James muttered to the door so that his drunken companion could not hear. The door opened and Sirius barged past him. Lily, who had just stepped out of her cubicle, now in uniform and with makeup on, stared at him in shock, not noticing James, who stood cautiously by the door. There was a moments silence while Lily's eyes scanned over Sirius' dishevelled appearance. And then her face turned into one filled with concern and she moved forwards.

'Hey, Evans.' Sirius wolf whistled at her approaching form. Something inside James stirred and he struggled to stop himself punching Sirius right between the eyes. 'Looking good this morning…' Lily continued to move towards him.

'Sirius… What's wrong?' she prompted him softly. Lily reached him and gently helped him towards a bench in the far corner. Sitting down beside him, she conjured a glass of water and helped him drink it. She didn't notice James quietly slip from the room still wrestling with the demon inside him.

'I can't tell you.' Sirius wagged a finger at her. 'It's a secret.' he stage-whispered but his eyes betrayed hurt.

'Well, then I'll just have to give you detention for being in the Prefects' bathroom.' Lily said, standing up and fixing him with a stern look.

'You wouldn't!' he gasped.

'Oh, I would.' It was lucky Sirius was so intoxicated or he would definitely have realised she wasn't in earnest. 'So, let's try again… What's wrong?'

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 **Oooh drama! Am I mean to end it there? I suppose a little, yes.**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Welcome! We pick up where we left off in the Prefects' bathroom. I hope you liked last chapter!**

 **Enjoy :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 16: The Slug Club**

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There was a silence in the Prefects' bathroom after Lily repeated her question. Her face showed only anxiety for the male sitting hunched on the bench before her. Sirius looked defeated, his flirtatious mood from when he'd entered the bathroom had completely vanished. Lily had a suspicion she already knew what was wrong but she couldn't be certain and until Sirius spoke of his predicament she wouldn't know for sure. Seconds ticked by and still neither of them spoke.

By the large swimming basin was a portrait of a mermaid, who, supposedly, resembled the merpeople that inhabited the depths of the Lake. The mermaid in question was splashing around in her painting hoping to attract Sirius' attention and glowering at Lily when he didn't mark her but raised his head to look at the red head. An awkward pause followed. And then-

'She ran away from me.' Sirius stated glumly and Lily knew at once he was referring to Marlene - her suspicions were confirmed. 'We were up one of the Astronomy Towers and we're snogging and then all of a sudden she pulls back looking at me like I'm Filch or something. Then she runs away – I tried calling after her but I dunno where she went. I know I've fucked up somehow but I don't know how…'

'Well, secret relationships can cause more hurt than good.' Lily said wisely and made a mental note to use this specific piece of advice to answer a problem sent to _Dear Cat_ by a deeply worried reader. 'Did Mar- _she_ want to go public and you didn't or was it the other way round?'

'Other way round…sort of. I only suggested it yesterday morning – she was complaining about how we had to creep around with our relationship so I said we didn't have to hide it. Everything was fine then… She said she wasn't ready for that yet so I said we could wait.' Sirius put his head in his hands. 'I just don't get it…'

'Do you two have a history?' Lily inquired, acting as though she hadn't the foggiest idea who he was actually discussing. It was in that moment that Lily decided she wasn't the worst choice for an Agony Aunt after all and perhaps she was of some use to _Dear Cat_ 's readers.

'What kind of question is that?' Sirius frowned but Lily didn't speak. 'I guess… Yeah, we do.'

'And?' she prompted, realising this interrogation would definitely be on the slow side.

'And what?'

'And have you addressed this said history?' Lily clarified and Sirius shook his head. 'Well, there you have it.' Sirius did not look enlightened and in fact seemed even more confused than he had been so far. 'The reason she ran away.'

'Still in the dark here, Evans.' Sirius was about to continue when he vomited right at Lily's feet. She vanished it quickly with her wand. 'Sorry.' He belched and Lily chuckled slightly.

'Okay…' She considered for a moment how best to explain the situation. 'So, your history with M-this female probably still affects her even if it doesn't bother you. Insults between you two that can't be taken back are obviously still in the air for her and maybe you could try apologising…' He seemed to be a little more understanding but still looked lost so with a sigh Lily tried again. 'Hypothetically, if this girl's first interaction with you was while you two were waiting for your Sorting Ceremony to start and you said a sleazy comment to her about how many children she would have by 17 and hadn't apologised since she probably would have issues about being in a relationship with you.'

'How d'y-' Sirius gawped at her but Lily still saw fit to continue.

'Hypothetically, if you and this girl had hooked up in 4th year after getting hammered and it turned out she'd been a virgin up until that point and then _you_ spread it around that she wasn't a good shag, I would argue she has every reason to hate you and suddenly being in a secret relationship and then fully assessing it probably would result in her running away from you.' There was no pity in Lily's voice nor in her face as she looked upon the still intoxicated Sirius. He may have consumed at least an entire bottle of firewhisky but he was sobered enough to hear the slight cold turn her voice had taken. Marlene was Lily's best friend after all and despite her newfound friendship with him, it was evident, and entirely expected, that she would still side with Marlene over him. 'So… I suggest you talk to this girl about all the possible hypothetical scenarios I can list, apologise and then take things slow rather than rushing into a relationship neither of you are ready for.'

But she decided against leaving him there as her minor irritation had demanded and instead tugged him up off the bench. Together they headed back to Gryffindor Tower where they found James waiting for them, pacing with apprehension as to what had taken them so long. Lily and James both helped Sirius up the boys' staircase and into the 7th year dormitory. The other occupants were still snoring so they soundlessly lifted Sirius onto his bed, though he struggled a little, and waited until he'd dozed off before drawing the hangings around him. Lily scribbled a quick note to Remus and placed it atop one of his beloved bars of chocolate saying that Sirius was ill and not to be woken. She signed the note with the words _Love Lily_ and James noted this with a slight bitterness rising inside of him.

He wasn't particularly sure why today of all days his jealous monster had chosen to awaken after a long time of hibernation but it had. Nevertheless, he forced himself to smile at Lily as he offered that they go down to breakfast together. Lily readily agreed, realising for the first time that morning how hungry she was, and they descended into the common room where they met Alice Prewett and Dorcas Meadows, apparently back from their morning run. As the two Heads climbed through the portrait hole, James exercising his gentlemanlike qualities by offering her a hand, Lily could have sworn she heard Alice squeal:  
'See! I told you they're together! Aren't they just the cutest?'

A pink tinge appeared on Lily's cheeks but James seemingly noticed nothing and began gesticulating enthusiastically about the upcoming Halloween Feast.

'I was thinking bats – bats are a failsafe.' he was saying with passion laced through every syllable and Lily listened with a small smile forming. If Lily was honest to herself she found his eager attitude quite endearing and this notion did little to appease the colour in her face. 'Just imagine them swooping over the first years and all the screams that would follow…' James trailed off as his mind filled with visions of a Great Hall full of a menagerie of creatures associated with the delights of Halloween. He was so entranced by his imaginings that he almost bumped into Edward, who was slouching in the opposite direction carrying a small scroll, but was luckily spared the conflict that would inevitably occur between the two males by Lily, who grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the way. At her touch, James' senses returned to him and he glowered at Edward before allowing Lily to lead him into the safety of the Great Hall.

Upon their entrance, Professor Slughorn made a beeline for the Head boy and girl, beaming at them jovially with two scrolls clutched in one of his plump hands. A small groan escaped James' lips but he quickly fell silent when Lily squeezed his hand a little tighter. He glanced down at their entwined fingers and a grin flickered into place, though it was swapped with a perfect smile when the old Professor reached them.

'Professor!' Lily greeted warmly, and, unlike James, her smile was genuine.

'Ah, Lily and Mr Potter!' Professor Slughorn held out the scrolls which were bound with purple velvet ribbons. 'I'm having a little party this evening – just a few old and current students such as yourselves. I would be delighted if you came along. The Head boy and girl together would be just excellent.'. His eyes roved over their hands and he winked conspiratorially as they excepted the scrolls, letting go of one another to do so. 'Perhaps you would also be so kind as forward the message to Mr Black and Miss McKinnon… I'll see you two later.' And with a small wave he waddled off to the staff table so that he could indulge himself in another plate of sausages and eggs.

'Thank you, Professor.' Lily said after him and then made her way towards the Gryffindor table. It was still early so very few students resided in the Great Hall and those that did clearly bore signs of sleep deprivation. So, the Head boy and girl looked quite out of place, one with excessively flushed cheeks and the other with a wide smirk that was threatening to increase in magnitude.

'Fancy going together?' James suggested casually.

'Sure.' Lily smiled at him. The pleasant sensation of James' monster doing a dance of victory inside his stomach brought a sudden appetite and he began to pile bacon onto his plate with gusto.

* * *

The evening came much faster than Lily had anticipated which was generally due to the fact she had spent her entire break time, all of lunch and her two free periods attempting to coax Marlene out of bed and persuade her to at least digest something of nutritional value. All this came, however, to no avail and the only thing Lily managed to gain was a new variety of insults to send at someone trying to disrupt one of her rare her lie-ins.

Because Marlene was refusing to leave the confines of her bed and had kept her hangings stubbornly shut, Lily got ready for the Slug Club party without her best friend's input and stood before a full-length mirror scrutinizing every inch of the royal blue cocktail dress she had donned. Nerves sank in the longer she stared at her reflection and she sighed, leaning closer to the reflective surface to examine her makeup. She pulled a face and hauled on a pair of silver heels that clicked merrily as she paced around the dormitory.

Mary MacDonald wandered in carrying a copy of the Hogwarts school magazine and smiled at Lily as she entered.

'Sluggy's tonight?' she asked and Lily nodded with a smile of her own. 'Well, you look great, Lily!'

'Thanks.' Mary and Lily had never had a particularly close relationship nor could they be classed as friends but the two girls understood each other well. They were both similar in temperament, though Mary was a little wilder, and perhaps they could have been good friends had their friendship groups merged but alas they had not so the two simply deemed one another as roommates they got on well with.

'YOU'RE GOING TO SUGHORN'S TONIGHT AND YOU DIDN'T FUCKING TELL ME?' thundered Marlene's voice from behind her hangings and Mary started. Lily bit back a laugh and prevented herself from rolling her eyes.

'I thought she was ill…' Mary deliberated suspiciously.

'She's quick at recovering when she wants to.' Lily replied. There was a slight growl from the other side of the curtain. 'Well, I told you Professor Slughorn invited you but you didn't want to go…' Lily reminded her best friend. 'I guess I should get going – James'll be waiting.'

'WHAT?' a delightedly shocked voice shouted into the dormitory.

'Oooh, going with James, are you?' Mary teased. Lily's cheeks flushed.

'W-we're Head boy and girl so it makes sense that we go together…'

'AND YOU WON'T SHOW ME YOUR OUTFIT?'

'Well, I'd better go.' She smiled at Mary and waved before leaving. Lily glanced back as she closed the dormitory door behind her and just as she'd predicted, Marlene had sprung out of bead.

'LILY EVANS!' Marlene bellowed after her and Lily rushed down the stairs with her best friend in hot pursuit. Once in the common room, she caught sight of James leaning against the wall beside the girls' staircase. He blinked at her and stared at Lily as though he'd never seen her before. The two Heads looked at each other for a moment before Marlene rugby tackled Lily and once the red head was on the floor she dragged her back up the staircase by her ankles causing a buzz of talk to erupt upon their exit. Lily winced as Marlene continued to pull her back to their dormitory.

Mary cast an amused but wary eye towards the two females as they entered and Lily was given the chance to get to her feet. Brushing herself down and straightening her dress, Lily was met by the shrewd gaze of Marlene, who was inspecting her.

'That hair looks like shit.' she said and Lily rolled her eyes. 'A braid would be better.' Marlene set to work, tugging at Lily's bun and rearranging it into a loose plait that hung over her right shoulder. 'Right! You can go now.' And Lily was dismissed. Despite her harsh tone, Marlene grinned at her as she left the dormitory again. 'Knock 'em dead!'

Descending the staircase for a second time, she did so much more slowly, seeing as she was no longer being chased by her steely-eyed best friend and her slight pain from being dragged up a flight of stairs prevented her from moving any faster, and was met by James, who had recovered from his stunned state. The common room fell silent as they watched in eager anticipation for the interaction between the Head boy and girl. However, the two leading acts in this escapade did not notice the shameless stares and it was clear they only had eyes for each other. Lily smiled shyly at James, who returned it with a lopsided grin and offered her his arm; she accepted and they made their way out into the corridor.

'You look smart this evening.' Lily complimented, taking in James' navy dress robes, matching bow tie and crisp white shirt. His hair too had been dealt with for the occasion for now it was unusually tame and flat.

'And you look as beautiful as ever.' James smirked at the sight of the faint blush gracing her cheeks.

'How's Sirius doing?'

'Oh, he's alright though he refused to show his face tonight. Sulking mainly… I dunno what you said to him but the results are hilarious.' He chuckled and Lily shrugged sheepishly deciding she had better steer the conversation away from anything that threatened to darken her pink cheeks.

'I think we need to bring up the Halloween Feast in next week's Prefect meeting.' she said.

'Yeah, I suppose so…' James studied her for a moment while she looked determinately ahead of her. 'We still need McGonagall to give us a final budget so we can buy the decorations.'

'True. D'you think Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade will be better for buying them? I was thinking Diagon Alley b-'

'Definitely Diagon Alley.' James agreed. 'I guess we'll have to go this weekend or next weekend.'

'Doing next weekend worries me slightly – I think it'd be better if we have the decorations with plenty of time before the Feast and before the meeting. I still need to check with Hagrid about carving the pumpkins.' Lily mused.

'I can go see Hagrid if you want.' James offered as they neared Professor Slughorn's office. An array of dark green lanterns had been arranged around the door so that the world around them became green tinged.

'No, no, I'll go tomorrow after dinner. I've been meaning to visit Hagrid for a catch up since the start of term anyway.' They had reached the office door and Lily opened it to reveal a large room with a buffet table at the far end. In the main part of the room mingled the guests, some famous some unknown, all with plates of food in hand. The drone of polite conversation mixed with the dulcet tones from the small orchestra in the corner filled the air and when James led them confidently into the office, Lily faltered a little. Mentally, she shook herself and smiled to a few faces she recognised.

'Food first?' James suggested and was met by an incredulous look from Lily.

'I'm not sure you even needed to ask that.' she responded and they made their way over to the delectable looking buffet. Piling their plates high, they made their way over to Professor Slughorn to make their presence known and then moved to the side of the room to indulge in the scrumptious food. There was a silence while they focused solely on consuming as much of their food as possible.

'What's he doing here?' James asked, breaking the silence as he glowered at a sallow faced male on the other side of the room. Lily swallowed her mouthful of food nervously but James did not return to his question. Instead he focused on the interesting attire of their fellow guests. 'That's a nice cardigan.' he said, snickering and nodded towards a squat witch with a face like a toad, who wore a vile pink cardigan and a matching dress.

'It's a nice colour.' Lily responded uncertainly. 'Bright pink's extremely cheerful.'

'You could say something horrible, you know. She can't hear you.' But James' attempt to encourage Lily to insult the toad like witch fell flat as Lily began to mumble about maybe vivid pink was a significant colour to her and therefore had special meaning. They ate a little more food and listened to the slow but enjoyable tune. 'D'you want to dance?'

'D-dance?' Lily stuttered, though she was unsure as to why she was so apprehensive. 'B-but no one else…'

'Screw them!' James dismissed, putting down his plate and holding out his hand. 'Just cos they don't know how to have fun doesn't mean we can't.' In spite of her nerves, Lily smiled and, after disposing of her plate, accepted his hand. James twirled her expertly into his chest so that they could take up the correct hold. As she felt his hand slide around her waist, Lily took a sharp intake of breath and when James grinned down at her, her insides warmed happily.

Through the single window in Professor Slughorn's office, it was bewitched to show the weather outside as his office was located in the dungeons and lacked an actual view, Lily saw rain begin to fall and soon forgot the other guests at the party. She and James revolved slowly on the spot absorbed with the melody swirling around them; upon noticing two people were actually paying attention to the music, the orchestra had started playing with much more feeling, all of the members watching the young dancers with secretive smiles. James rested his head on Lily's and closed his eyes contently as they continued to dance.

The other guests began to take up partners and not long after there were very few people who weren't dancing. The tempo of the music soon picked up and Lily laughed slightly as James twirled her with professional ease. Their dancing became much livelier and as Lily whirled back into his arms, James noted how alive she looked with flushed cheeks and bright laughing eyes. She really was beautiful…

At around 9.30 pm, Lily and James said goodbye to their more than tipsy Professor and began to make their way back to Gryffindor Tower. It was still raining outside the castle and the sight of the fat raindrops spattering the windows, Lily felt as though something about tonight was a familiar memory but she couldn't pinpoint what.

'You're a really good dancer.' she told James, who smirked slightly and spun Lily as they walked.

'Pureblood upbringing.' he explained and Lily nodded. Her head tilted a little to the side as her eyes searched his face. 'Like something you see?' James asked in amusement.

'I just realised you tamed your hair.' Lily admitted.

'And d'you like it?' They both stopped and he looked directly into her eyes.

'I… That is to say… It looks good bu-'

'Well, if it isn't the blood traitor and his bitch.' a malicious voice interrupted. Both the Head boy and girl whipped around, the taller of the two pulling out their wand as they did so, and faced the three people, who had appeared at the end of the corridor. Aaron Mulciber, flanked by Severus Snape and Christopher Avery, sneered at the two Gryffindors and mirrored James' movements by producing his own short, stubby black wand.

'Evening, lads.' James greeted merrily, though his face was filled with pure contempt. Lily shuffled her feet uncomfortably and looked at the floor.

'Let's not play games, Potter.' Mulciber spat and tightening the grip on his wand. Without warning, Lily felt an unpleasant feeling around her midriff and found herself being summoned towards Snape. Once by his side, she was held hostage with a wand tip being pressed into her neck. 'Your little Mudblood girlfriend's about to learn what happens to those who displease us.'

'Let her go.' James ordered coldly. 'She's done nothing to " _displease"_ you.'

'Her blood is enough to disgust me.' Mulciber sneered in response. There was a tense silence while the two males glowered at one another. Lily began to wiggle her left foot around but was careful to be absolutely still with the rest of her body so that Snape and Avery wouldn't detect her movements.

'Let her go or I will-'

'Will what, Potty?' Mulciber let out a cold laugh. 'Put me in detention? Make me clean the trophy room? Ooooh, that sounds _terrible_!' James let out a snarl, his eyes narrowing to absolute slits. Meanwhile, Lily had managed to remove her heel from her stilettos; she lifted her left leg so that it was practically at 90 degrees and pulled off her high heel. Snape and Avery noticed nothing as they were both too engrossed in the conflict in front of them.

'I'm warning you!' Lily thrust the shoe into Snape's stomach and he fell back, grunting with pain. As he did so he grabbed Avery in an attempt to stabilise himself which resulted only in both of them crashing to the floor. In an instant, Lily had produced her wand, seemingly out of nowhere, and both Mulicber and James had turned their attention to the redhead.

'Right, boys.' Lily said, her voice completely calm. As she spoke, she pointed her wand at each of the three Slytherins in turn and they watched her warily. 'Here's what we're going to do. You will each receive 2 weeks of detention for attempting to attack the Head boy and girl. Then, Mulciber you will also receive another week of detentions for using foul language. Should an incident like this be repeated, I will not be so lenient. Do I make myself clear?'

The three Slytherins nodded reluctantly and it was clear to everyone present that they had lost this particular confrontation. Snape threw Lily's shoe back at her and it would have hit her directly in the face had James not caught it an inch from her nose. He smiled softly at her as he handed it back to Lily and her heart leapt ever so slightly. Then they both dismissed the three Slytherins.

They left the corridor, though Avery was careful to knock into James as they did so, leaving the Head boy and girl alone once more. But neither of them spoke and the two Gryffindors made their way back to the common room with a mutual understanding hidden in the depths of their silence.

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	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Did you enjoy last chapter's Lily and James time? Well, as a treat, there's some more in this chapter!**

 **Thank you sooooooo much for your reviews! You guys are the best and make my day! I'm really glad people are enjoying the story so far and I'll try bring in some more Lily and members of the Marauder moments into the story!**

* * *

 **Chapter 17: Preparation and Performance**

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It was 7 am and Lily stood in front of her open wardrobe considering its contents. She glanced towards the window, which revealed a thin chilling rain speckling the panes of glass, and picked out her cosy blue knitted jumper. Alongside this garment of clothing she chose a pair of black skinny jeans and her comfiest pair of socks, they had Snitches patterned all over them, and, with her toiletries also in hand, she slipped into her pair of black converses, a sight that looked incredibly strange considering she still wore her pyjamas, before making her way to the Prefects' bathroom. It wasn't a particularly long visit and she was dressed and ready by 7.45. Lily's stomach let out a loud rumble and called for instant feeding meaning she made a quick stop to the Great Hall to grab a piece of toast, which she munched cheerfully on her way back to Gryffindor Tower. Once at the Fat Lady's portrait, she gave the password and deposited her things in the girls' dormitory.

Each of her roommates slept peacefully and Lily was cautious to make as little noise as possible when she knelt down beside her bed and pulled out a small box. Inside this box, were 50 or so letters, all addressed to _Dear Cat_ , and each one still unopened. Lily took the box, as well as a bottle of ink, some parchment and her quill, into the common room. After seeing the multitude of letters delivered to them, Marlene and Lily had decided they would answer the most popular and the most pressing problems so Lily set about opening, reading and sorting the correspondences in the box.

 _Dear Cat,_

 _I think my boyfriend's cheating on me and I don't know what to do. Should I ask him? But what if I'm wrong? HEEEEEEELP!_

 _A suspicious girlfriend_

As soon as Lily began reading the problem, her mind imagined Marlene's reaction. It brought a small smile to her lips as she envisaged her best friend ranting about the opposite gender and then about how obvious the solution would be. The probable solution (according to Marlene) was not something Lily really wanted to visualise although it did likely involve a pair of strong hands and a head that had been separated from its owner.

Lily dozed off after about an hour of sorting and then writing down possible solutions – Marlene had been extremely busy emotionally in recent times and leaving as little work for the two of them to do together would be extremely appreciated by both her and Lily, who was not prepared to listen to Marlene start cursing Professor McGonagall and all the _Dear Cat_ readers for several hours on end. She jerked awake at the sound of James coming down the boys' staircase and scrambled to cover the piles of opened envelopes with a blanket she conjured.

'Morning.' he greeted and supressed a yawn.

'Morning!' Lily responded a little too brightly but James was evidently too tired to notice how suspicious she sounded. He ruffled his hair and began to make his way towards the portrait hole. As he passed her, he stopped abruptly and Lily's eyes filled with apprehension.

'What time did we tell McGonagall we're leaving for Diagon Alley?' James asked sleepily and Lily let out a not so hidden sigh of relief.

'10.' she told him and he nodded. Then he left the common room and Lily removed the blanket that had been concealing the letters. One problem sent in by a reader asked _Dear Cat_ what to do if you were losing feelings towards your significant other and gaining them in regards to their best friend. Lily decided she would ask around for ideas as she only had one solution and needed to check if it was plausible.

At approximately 9.50, Lily packed up her things and replaced them under her bed. Grabbing her black coat and handbag, she began searching for her umbrella and found it in Nigel's wicker basket. The kitten mewed indignantly, having been cuddled up to it, as Lily removed it carefully and only spared her one open eye before rolling over and falling asleep once more. She stroked him tenderly and then hurried in the direction of Professor McGonagall's office. To her surprise, she arrived before James and waited outside for a while.

'Miss Evans, I am certain you don't need Mr Potter's support to enter my office.' a crisp voice sounded from inside the office. Lily jumped upon hearing it but obediently entered with a sheepish smile. Professor McGonagall met it with an amused expression and indicated her to sit. 'Would you like a biscuit?' she offered and Lily politely declined. Nevertheless, she pulled a tartan box out of one of her desk drawers and placed it on the desk so that Lily could see the impressive amount of Ginger Newts inside it. 'How is Miss McKinnon?'

'S-she's…' Lily deliberated her next move. 'She's hiding.' Her eyes momentarily revealed the worry she felt but it vanished as soon as there was a knock on the door. Professor McGonagall observed the Head girl for a moment and then called for the person behind the door to enter. James strolled in with a bacon sarnie in hand and seated himself, sprawling out on the chair as he did so.

'Please, do be seated, Mr Potter.' Professor McGonagall remarked dryly.

'You know you love me, Minnie.' he responded with a wink. The Professor did not look impressed.

'I have your allowance here.' she said and ignored James' outstretched hand, handing the bag of gold, silver and bronze coins to Lily. 'I expect you back by 6 pm latest. The floo powder is on the mantelpiece.' Both Heads nodded and Lily stowed away the money. They walked over to the fireplace and each took a handful of the grey powder from the small gold box that sat on the ledge above the merrily crackling fire. 'And Miss Evans,' Professor McGonagall spoke as James gestured for Lily to go first in a gentlemanly manner, the effect was slightly ruined by the fact his moth was full of food, 'we can review your _homework issues_ once you have returned.' she said pointedly and Lily bowed her head in understanding. Then, she threw her powder onto the flames and stepped into the fireplace as they turned emerald green.

'Diagon Alley.' Lily made sure to tuck her elbows in and hold her handbag and coat close as she began to spin. Screwing her eyes shut so that she couldn't see the blurs of stranger's houses, she prayed the journey wouldn't be too long. In all honesty, Lily preferred apparating and avoided using the floo network whenever possible – though she would never admit it to anyone that she was actually quite afraid of the possibility of falling out of the wrong grate. Luckily, this fear did not come true and a few seconds later, Lily had stepped elegantly out of the fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron. Hastily, she vanished the soot that covered her and moved out of the way as James stumbled out. He brushed himself off but managed to miss a bit on his cheek which Lily removed with her wand. James glumly disposed of his soot coated sarnie.

Neither of them spoke as they made their way out into the Leaky Cauldron's courtyard and only began conversing after James had tapped the third brick on the left to create an archway for them to walk through.

'I've made a list of possible things.' James announced and handed Lily an alarmingly long piece of parchment which she took a while to balance alongside her umbrella.

'The budget might not cover all this…' Lily mumbled but James waved his hand dismissively. 'Want to come under the umbrella?

'We've got to go all out, Lily. This is our first Head organised event – we've got to beat all previous years.' he told her as though he were an omniscient genius. 'And yeah, thanks.'

'How about we compromise?' Lily suggested, not wanting an argument with him about something as menial as Halloween decorations, as she held the umbrella high enough to cover James as well. 'Put a star next to your top 10 and we'll try get those first. If there's any money left over we'll think about the others.'

'Fine.' James pouted slightly but was distracted by the pen Lily handed him. 'What in the name of Merlin is that?' he asked, examining the pen as though it were a God-given object. Lily chuckled.

'It's a pen.' she said and pulled off its lid to reveal the nib. 'You write with it.' James drew a star next to an item on the list, _bats_ , and then let out a loud gasp.

'Where'd that ink come from?' He shook the pen but nothing happened.

'There's an ink cartridge inside it which holds all the ink. When it runs out you change it or throw out the pen.' She frowned at him. 'Don't they tell you about pens in Muggle Studies?'

'This is a Muggle object… Wow!' James' eyes had lit up like a child at Christmas.

'You can keep it if you want. I've got a few in my handbag.' At Lily's words, he hugged her and for a moment she stood there frozen with shock as he embraced her but after a while she put her arms around him also. They broke apart and James began to put the pen away in his pocket with extreme caution but Lily stopped him. 'You're putting it in upside down – it'll explode like that.' she informed him kindly and helped his hand turn the pen around.

'It can explode?' James asked in awe and she chuckled slightly.

'In a way, yes.' Lily handed him another pen so he could continue his drawing of stars and smiled at the sight of him carefully putting parchment to pen for fear he might damage the Muggle object. 'Can I ask your advice?'

'Go ahead.' James responded with a grin in her direction.

'Hypothetically,' Lily began and noticed James' grin widened at her word choice. 'If you were dating someone…'

'Right.' His grin was replaced by a look of confusion.

'And you were losing feelings for the person your dating but gaining them for their best friend, what would you do?' She watched his face as he began to think.

'Why d'you want to know this?' James asked after a moments silence. Lily fiddled with her coat sleeve.

'It's for… I mean… You can learn a lot about a person by how they react in different scenarios…' she said and attempted not to look too shifty.

'Well, in that case, I reckon you'd split with the person you're dating – that's a given – and then maybe tell them you have feelings for their best mate. See how they react and then depending on their reaction either ask their best mate soon after your split or wait until your ex is over you cos it'll be mates before dates with their best mate... Or I guess just go for it and ask them regardless of your ex's feelings – go with life's too short.' James finished drawing stars on the list and led the way into a small shop that had been wildly decorated for Halloween. 'So, what've you learnt about me with that answer?'

Lily's insides cursed loudly and it was lucky her language was all internal for had someone heard they would have thought Marlene had possessed her.

'Um… I learnt that…' Lily's mind raced in a frenzy as she tried to think of something to say. 'I learnt that you consider other people's reactions to bigger actions when given enough time but you're not the kind of person to do something just for the sake of only living once or life being too short.'

'How d'you get all that from just a few sentences?' James looked at her incredulously and picked up a shopping basket from beside the shop's entrance as they walked inside. Lily closed the umbrella and began to examine a tank of fake purple frogs and their frogspawn before she replied.

'You considering people's reactions to bigger actions showed by your first solution of the problem because you took the ex's feelings into consideration and such a scenario would include big decisions and actions. However, I've witnessed situations where you've made big decisions without considering the bigger picture but those decisions have all been made instantly so I know only if you have time to consider you will.' Beside the tank was a selection of Halloween themed confetti which, according to the label, fluttered in the air of their own accord. Lily picked up one of the packets and began reading the product information.

'And the second bit?' James prompted, breaking through Lily's train of thought as she started thinking about what possible charms had been used to make the confetti.

'Oh, you added the "life's too short" argument as an extra and it was obvious you didn't agree with that solution.' Lily explained and crossed _Halloween confetti_ off James' list as she placed a few packets in the basket. James watched her silently as Lily began to hum while she looked at a set of bloody footprints that were bewitched to walk around the room they were placed in.

* * *

A few hours later and James and Lily walked along the cobbled street laden with shopping. James had offered to carry all the bags himself, as the gentleman he was, but was privately delighted when Lily insisted on taking at least half of the load. Then she also did the logical thing of charming all the bags to be feather light to which James responded by calling her a genius and inviting her for a drink at the Leaky cauldron. He could have kissed Lily right there and then for her thinking but he held back, deciding that such a decision was far too rash and going for a drink was a better idea.

Tom, the barman, waved at them as they entered and gladly took their orders. Both 17-year-olds chose butterbeer and waited by the bar for Tom to prepare their tankards.

'Are you doing anything for Sirius' birthday?' Lily asked as James placed the correct number of coins on the counter. 'No, I'll pay f-'

'Lily, this is on me.' James laughed at her expression. 'And in answer to your question, no.'

'Any ideas for his birthday then?' Tom handed them their drinks and the went to find somewhere to sit. Settling at a small wooden table, they both took a sip at exactly the same time and Lily smiled into her tankard as she realised this.

'Sirius doesn't like celebrating his birthday.' James told her and Lily frowned. 'He likes presents but a party or something won't be appreciated.'

'Oh. I didn't realise… Sorry.' Lily avoided his gaze and flinched in shock as James' large warm hand covered her small slightly cold one.

'You've got nothing to apologise for.' He reassured her with a smile and squeezed her hand. Lily stared at their two hands as though they were something alien to her and remained silent. Checking his watch, James saw it was already 4.30 pm. He didn't really want to end their visit to Diagon Alley but he was required back at school by 5 o'clock latest for an extremely important reason. 'D'you want to head back soon?'

'Sure.' Lily replied and downed the rest of her butterbeer with great ease. She made sure to wipe her lip so that no foam moustache resided there. James was secretly impressed she'd managed to drink such a large amount of butterbeer in such a short space of time and was quick to mimic her, though he spilt some over his face. Trying not to laugh, Lily vanished the creamy liquid trickling down his face and the two of them made their way over to the fireplace.

Lily's journey back was very much the same as her journey there, with the exception she now had a large amount of butterbeer churning inside of her, and she entered Professor McGonagall's office with the same grace she'd achieved on her previous trip. Cleaning herself quickly, she greeted the Professor and made room for James, who tumbled out with a wave of ash. Trying to ignore Professor McGonagall's angry intake of breath, Lily vanished the soot so that the office looked as good as new.

'You can leave your purchases over there.' she instructed, pointing to the far corner of the room. Obediently, the Head boy and girl deposited their shopping in the correct area and then they excused themselves. But at the door, Professor McGonagall called Lily back. 'Miss Evans! We need to review your _homework issues_.'

'Oh, yes, sorry… I forgot.' James cast them both a slightly suspicious look but hurried off nonetheless. Lily closed the door behind her and sat down opposite her teacher.

'I believe you were answering my question last time we spoke.'

'Yes…'

'So, how is Miss McKinnon?'

'Like I said…she's hiding. Well, she went to lessons yesterday and the day she missed she's caught up on but she's spending all her free time in the dormitory.' Lily admitted worriedly.

'Am I correct in assuming she's hiding from Mr Black?' Lily nodded and looked at her hands. 'Hm.' Professor McGonagall watched the Head girl shrewdly. 'As far as I was aware, they had remedied their situation. In fact, the rumours that reached my ears certainly indicated that they were no longer at odds with one another.' Lily lifted her head and though she was polite enough not to gawk at her, her eyes betrayed unabashed astonishment.

'R-rumours can be misleading…' she mumbled, thinking of Alice Prewett and Dorcas Meadows.

'Perhaps.' A look of great amusement crossed the older witch's face as she observed the student sitting in front of her. 'But I pride myself in having reliable sources.' Lily still seemed shocked by this news, momentarily forgetting the problem they were actually discussing. 'The portraits of Hogwarts know a great many secrets and can easily sort the fact from fiction. If you know where to look, you will always get answers.' It was almost as though a light clicked on inside Lily's mind and her eyes widened marginally. Professor McGonagall noticed her obvious revelation and frowned ever so slightly as she was unsure as to what the Head girl had just comprehended. 'And now, I believe we were discussing Miss McKinnon.'

'Of course… Sorry, Professor.' Lily snapped out of her reverie and instantly worry took precedence over all her other emotions. 'Well, everything was going alright for a while – she and Sirius kept their relationship secret but it was obvious to everyone else that something was going on. And then, I think, Marlene had a moment where her mind just asked itself what she was doing in a relationship with Sirius Black. So… she ran off leaving Sirius and now she's hiding from him.'

'I see… Well, Miss Evans, I t-'

'And it's all my fault!' Lily suddenly burst, cutting across Professor McGonagall. 'It's all my fault!' she repeated and it was clear there were tears forming in her emerald eyes. 'I-if – if I hadn't told Sirius that Marlene s-smelt him in her Amortentia potion then he'd n-n-never have k-kissed her!' Tears fell thick and fast down her cheeks and Professor McGonagall listened to her patiently. 'It's all my fault! They rushed into it because – because of me and now they're both hurt! T-they have so much h-h-history and I knew t-that but…' The rest of Lily's speech became inaudible as she whispered the continuation of her sentence.

'Miss Evans.' Professor McGonagall addressed her softly and Lily stopped mumbling to herself, though her silent crying continued. 'I see you no more to blame than anyone else involved in this affair.'

'But I-'

'Did you tell Mr Black to kiss Miss McKinnon?' Lily shook her head. 'Did you tell Miss McKinnon to hide in her dormitory?' Again, Lily shook her head. 'Then you can hardly accept the blame for their personal choices. Perhaps you meddled a little but your intentions were good and you were only trying to help your friends. My advice would be to leave things as they are now and allow events to unfold themselves.'

'Thank you, Professor.' Lily's voice sounded as though she had an extremely bad head cold.

'If my clock is correct then you would do well to head to the Great Hall for dinner. I'm sure Mr Potter would be most disappointed if you missed whatever caused him to leave our company so speedily.' There was an amused twinkle in Professor McGonagall's eye and Lily took herself to be dismissed.

She left the office and made her way to the Great Hall. But as she passed a particular row of portraits she stopped, Professor McGonagall's words ringing in her ears, and faced a painting of three nuns kneeling before an altar.

'Excuse me…' she said politely and the three females turned around.

'Yes, my dear?' the eldest of the three spoke kindly but her eyes clearly showed she had never been spoken to by a student before.

'I-if…' Lily chose her words carefully. 'If I wanted to find the truth…who would I ask?'

* * *

10 minutes later and Lily entered the Great Hall, which was already abuzz with talk and laughter. No one looked her way, everyone was far to engrossed in their own conversations, and she managed to sit down beside Remus without attracting attention. Marlene was sat opposite her, the hood of her robes pulled over her head to shield her face, and Lily found a smile form as she took in her best friend.

'You know you're more obvious with your hood up.' Lily pointed out.

'If I can't see him, he can't see me.' she replied stubbornly and pulled the plate of mashed potato towards her.

'I'm not sure if that's ho-'

'Have you been crying?' Remus interrupted, looking at Lily with deep concern. Marlene too raised her head to examine the red head and her face mirrored Remus' as she took in the puffy red eyes and slightly blotchy cheeks of her best friend.

'No…' Marlene's eyes narrowed and Remus raised an eyebrow. 'I had an allergic reaction to something James and I bought.' Neither of her two friends looked convinced but they could tell Lily was not going to elaborate and dropped the matter. 'So… What did you two do today?'

'Stayed in the kitchens all day – the hot chocolate is so fucking good!' Marlene replied instantly and shot a dark look down the table at where Sirius sat with Peter. James wasn't with them, Lily noted, rather he sat with Frank and Kingsley right at the far end of the Gryffindor table. She frowned.

'I was in the library mainly – Pete and I did our Care of Magical Creatures essay which took forever.'

'Oh, have you finished yours? I still need to add to my conclusion.' Lily admitted with a small sigh. 'Professor Kettleburn asked for two rolls of parchment and I'm on three and a half but every time I read through it I find more places to add detail.'

'I've done three. You can look at my conclusion if you want.' Remus offered, laughter dancing in his eyes.

'Really?' Lily's face lit up considerably. 'That'd be brilliant, Remus.' She hugged him happily, a gesture he returned, and then let go so that she could help herself to a portion of toad in the hole.

'Apparently, there's chocolate cauldrons today.' Remus said nonchalantly. Marlene had returned to her meal and ate her mashed potato in a moody manner so she did not respond. Lily swallowed her mouthful of food and then grinned.

'Oh, good. I haven't had chocolate cauldrons in ages.' She ate another mouthful and could have sworn Remus looked guiltily at his own food. 'You alright, Remus?'

'What? Oh, yes, I'm fine.' His slightly high-pitched voice said otherwise and Lily would have said something had Marlene not spoken first.

'I hope dessert turns up soon. This mash is the fucking dullest thing I've ever eaten.' She stabbed at the offending substance grumpily. Neither Remus or Lily saw fit to remind her that she could have eaten something else alongside her mashed potato and chose to exchange a smile with one another instead.

'I'm sure it will.' Lily reassured her. 'That reminds me – bought you both something.' She fumbled around in her handbag and produced a large bag of fizzing whizzbees for Marlene and a huge chocolate bar for Remus. Both recipients grinned broadly at their respective gifts and as if to add to Marlene's new found elated mood, the food switched with a large variety of desserts ranging from eclairs to treacle tarts. A plate of chocolate cauldrons appeared by the three of them and each of them reached for once of the delicious cakes.

However, at their touch the chocolate cauldrons on the plate began to rise into the air and as they did so, they swelled, doubling their size every few seconds. All over the Great Hall there were cauldron cakes floating lazily upwards and expanding the higher they got. A few people, evidently desperate to eat one, leapt up to try catch themselves a cake only to see the chocolate cauldron dance tantalisingly out of their grasp. At each failure, laughter ensued and while the students amused themselves, Lily watched, fascinated, as the cakes grew and grew moving faster towards the ceiling. Soon a layer of chocolate cauldrons had formed just above the enchanted ceiling, barring the view of the starry night outside, but more and more cakes continued to levitate towards their comrades.

And then, all at once, the cauldron cakes exploded.

It was absolute chaos; thick, slimy swelling solution showered over the students and teachers alike. People screamed diving for cover under the House tables, a feat made exceedingly difficult by their many enlarged limbs, whilst others stood laughing at the friends' expansions and extensions. Some conjured umbrellas and others gave up hiding to begin throwing the slimy potion at one another. Swelling solution fights quickly broke out all across the Great Hall and for a while the teachers, and some Prefects, half-heartedly attempted break them up before giving in and joining in themselves. Lily saw Professor McGonagall hit both Professor Dumbledore and Professor Slughorn full in the face with a measure of the gooey substance, though she had enough decorum to do so with a flick of her wand rather that grabbing two handfuls from the floor. The two victims from her attack soon gained particularly large noses and ears, causing a barrel of laughs from many of the surrounding students, but they began to fight back evoking a staff battle to ensue.

James crept up behind Lily, who was watching Professor Sprout bewitch a patch of slime to form a ghost shape and chase poor Professor Quinn around the staff table, and threw a face full of potion at her. She spluttered for a moment as her lips puffed up and her nose elongated itself before grinning mischievously at the Head boy and charming a wave of swelling solution to drench him from head to toe.

'LILY!' James let out what resembled a battle cry and began to run towards her, though it took him a while to get used to moving in his newly giant form. She squeaked and took off like a shot, charging through the mayhem around her, dodging between the swelling solution fights that raged everywhere. As she sprinted, Lily took the liberty of enchanting as much potion to hit her friends as possible. Sirius' head suddenly became huge as did Peter's left foot and Remus received extremely long arms which hung before him like a gorilla. Only Marlene had the sense to block her best friend's ammunition with magic and had created what looked like a fort beneath a section of the Gryffindor table.

But, as Lily reached the end on the table and attempted to change direction, she slipped on a puddle of swelling solution and she fell to the floor. James dived on top of her with a look of glee spread across the entirety of his massive face.

'Ompf!' Lily winced slightly as his enormous body landed on her significantly smaller one. She was pinned to the ground beneath him but still she grinned playfully as he looked down at her, pushing himself off her chest so that she could breathe.

'Do you surrender?' he asked, grinning back. After running Lily was quite breathless though heart beat hadn't been that quick before he'd landed on her.

'Never!' Lily declared stoically. James began to tickle her and she squirmed, laughing, trying to struggle free. 'F-fine! I s-surrender…' He ceased his tickling and rolled off her before standing up. Lily cautiously began to get to her feet but James wasn't finished with her yet. Without warning he grabbed her and hoisted her over his shoulder. Then, he strolled from the Great Hall waving merrily to several gawking students and saluting to many of the teachers. 'What are you doing?' Lily had decided against resisting, knowing that James wouldn't put her down until he wanted regardless of her protesting.

'You surrendered, didn't you?' Lily nodded although he couldn't see her head. 'Well, I'm just saving the poor defeated person that you are.' He stopped and gently lifted Lily down from his shoulder, placing her on the ground before him.

'I suppose I should thank you for saving me.' Lily said with a smile and cleaned herself with a flick of her wand. She did the same for James' clothing and then set about reducing the sizes of their swelled limbs.

'You know considering I'm saving you I should probably do this part.' James told her, winking. Lily shrugged but let him take over. Soon they were both back to normal and began to head towards Gryffindor tower.

'That was very impressive magic.' Lily informed him and he stared at her.

'Y-you thought that was impressive?' James beamed as she nodded and his usual strut instantly became much more pronounced.

'Yes, making the cakes react only when touched was very advanced.' Lily tucked a stray hair behind her ear and smiled shyly. 'I thought it was a great prank.'

'Thanks.' James slid his hands into his pockets as they neared the portrait hole. ' _Auspicious_.' he said to the Fat Lady and she swung forward looking at the two Heads knowingly. They climbed into the common room and Lily mumbled that she needed something from her dormitory. But on the first step of the girls' staircase she turned, her cheeky grin back in place, and spoke to James.

'I would have made the potion a little differently though…'

 **Please Review :)**

 **Did you enjoy the Marauder prank?**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: It's Halloween - well, in Jily land anyway! I'm already looking forward to writing about Christmas in this story.**

* * *

 **Chapter 18: Halloween**

* * *

The 31st of October had become a highly anticipated event in the Hogwarts calendar over the past few years with a Slytherin and Gryffindor Head duo setting the bar high six years previous after a fantastic performance from a skeleton mariachi band. The Head boy and girl the Halloween Feast after that had hired a highland dance group made entirely of ghosts to perform while everyone ate – an excitable Nearly-Headless Nick had joined in with the Grey Lady as his partner which had then prompted a rather vicious argument between him and the Bloody Baron as to who she should dance with. That Feast was best not mentioned near either ghost for it had the danger of evoking shiver inducing glares from both apparitions.

Nevertheless, a reputation had emerged throughout the years that the Halloween Feast promised to be exciting and entertaining. This reputation was expected to be met not only by the students but the teachers as well. It was also a key event for the Head boy and girl as it was the event in the school calendar that was there's and there's alone to organise, although they could enlist the help of the Prefects should they wish; needless to say, it was also the first chance they had of truly creating a school opinion on how they were as Heads and this impression would affect the reception of any other events they organised quite considerably.

James and Lily had mapped out their plans during the last Prefect meeting; everyone had agreed on them and everyone was looking forward to putting those sketches, lists and diagrams into action. There was just one small problem…

Halloween in the year 1977 fell on a Monday.

It had taken a great deal of effort to persuade both the teachers and the Prefects that missing the last lesson of the day was entirely necessary in order to produce a fantastic Halloween Feast. But their persuasion had been worthwhile for at the start of their last period on the dot all the Hogwarts Prefects arrived. The Head boy and girl soon got to work delegating tasks and within minutes the decorating was underway. Hagrid arrived after 10 minutes with around a dozen gigantic carved pumpkins in a cart and Lily rushed over to help him.

'These are perfect, Hagrid.' she said as she reached him and the gamekeeper beamed. They brought the cart over to where the staff table resided and Lily began to levitate them into a perfectly arranged formation in front of the table. Hagrid helped by heaving a few to their places as well and together they were an efficient team. Once the pumpkins were all positioned, Hagrid excused himself and Lily set about decorating them with cobwebs, which she conjured from her wand, trailing them across the pumpkins with a certain effect in mind.

Meanwhile James and Remus were attempting to waft the self-floating Halloween confetti across the Great Hall as when they had opened the packets all the little pieces of enchanted paper had burst out but remained floating in that area rather than spreading across the Hall as anticipated. Both boys had rolled up their sleeves and looked distinctly dishevelled having wafted the confetti with their textbooks for more than 10 minutes nonstop. When Lily turned around from the pumpkins for a brief moment and smiled vaguely in their direction, the two had stopped and given her a thumbs up, James running a hand through his hair, in order to seem like they had been productive. After her back was to them once more, they continued wafting only to find two fans had appeared by their feet. These fans wafted of their own accord and with identically sheepish expressions the two boys were done in no time.

Remus then went to help the other 7th year prefects with enchanting spiders to scurry along the walls of the Great Hall whilst James headed over to a pair of Ravenclaw Prefects to help them with the large witch's cauldron erected in the far corner of the Hall. Lily finished decorating the pumpkins and moved a little along to where two 5th year Prefects were arguing instead of doing their task of levitating magically conjured bats into the air.

'Why are you so useless?' snapped the male of the two, a Hufflepuff boy by the name of Jack Smith. 'It's just levitating. We learnt that in bloody first year!'

'I-I-I…' The girl's lip trembled slightly as she attempted to stammer a response. She was a Slytherin named Evelyn Pucey and had dark hair, which hid most of her apprehensive face.

'I don't think there's any need for insults.' Lily interrupted as Jack Smith opened his mouth to add something vicious to his previous statement. 'Perhaps you could make a start on levitating the bats.' She suggested to him and he turned away from the females muttering darkly. 'D'you need some help?'

'N-no… Maybe… Yes…' Evelyn turned scarlet with obvious shame and embarrassment but Lily smiled kindly at her, unperturbed by her discomfort.

'I always find practicing the movement first helps a lot.' She traced the air with her own wand and Evelyn echoed the swish and flick movement though she still looked mortified. 'That's it!' Lily nodded and mirrored her movements. 'Now try saying the incantation.'

' _Wingardium Leviosa_.' Evelyn mumbled and her eyes widened in surprise as the bat moved towards the ceiling.

'There you go.' Lily congratulated her and the two girls continued to levitate bats. They were not of course real bats but magically conjured and created ones that would only begin flying once at a certain height in the air. Real bats would have been far too messy not to mention it would have been cruel to contain them in a student filled Great Hall. It didn't take long before there were dozens of bats swooping left, right and centre much to the delight of all the Prefects, who stopped their work for a moment to admire them.

The bell signalling the end of lessons rang across the castle and into the grounds bringing with it absolute chaos in the Great Hall as last-minute cobwebs were added, bloody footprints placed and food colouring poured into the witch's cauldron. In the thick of the Prefects running around frantically was Lily calmly charming the House tables to look more in tune with their surroundings. She conjured a last sparkling black skull and put it carefully on the Gryffindor table just as James called all the Prefects in.

'Everyone stop what you're doing!' he yelled and immediately confiscated Jack Smith's wand as he tried to add one last cobweb. 'Right, everyone over here!' Lily smiled to herself as she walked over; James really was a good leader. Once everyone was gathered, he adjusted his volume. 'It looks great guys – I'd say we're the best year yet!' There was a group cheer and then they all slipped out of the Great Hall and into the milling students outside in the Entrance Hall. It didn't take long for the teachers to arrive and allow everyone entry. Lily squeezed James and Remus' hands reassuringly and smiled up at them. Then they headed to their separate ways as Lily went to where Marlene stood and James and Remus over to their fellow Marauders.

'Hey, Head girl.' Marlene greeted as Lily reached her. 'You look all hot and bothered – not been shagging Potter, have you?'

'Wh-I was decorating the Great Hall…' Marlene snorted as Lily's cheeks burned red and then grabbed her by the arm, dragging her towards the Gryffindor table and, more importantly, the food.

'Fuck me! I'm hungry!' she announced, plonking down on a free seat. Lily sat down beside her and looked guiltily after the group of 1st years that had been scared off by her and Marlene's presence. 'By the way, I'm liking the decorations. I'll accept your alibi then.' she grinned wickedly at her best friend, who positively resembled a tomato, and raised her goblet with a small bow.

Lily mumbled something in response but it was drowned out by the sudden growl which sounded out of Marlene's mouth. Edward had seated himself opposite the two females and his presence was most definitely unwelcome.

'Can we help you with something?' Marlene asked, her voice dangerously monotone.

'Am I not allowed to sit where I choose?' Edward quipped crisply and glowered at her. She easily matched his death glare and produced her wand threateningly.

'Marls…' Lily attempted to take her wand but Marlene held it out of her reach and she gave up, watching warily.

'No, you're fucking not.' Marlene replied as though Lily had not spoken. 'So, fuck off down the table, McClaggen. You're not welcome here.'

'I have just as much right to sit here as you do, McKinnon!' he spat shrilly. Marlene had been about to respond when-

'Eddie!' Sirius' delighted voice entered the confrontation and Lily glanced worriedly at her best friend. She noticed Marlene's grip on her wand had tightened considerably and her shoulders had become tense. Sirius slid into the seat beside Edward and looped and arm around him, grinning broadly. 'I'm so glad I found you! I've got a present for you!'

'Black, piss off!' Edward hissed, struggling to remove Sirius' arm from around him. As he squirmed, Sirius pulled something out of his pocket; it was black, hairy and rather stressed after sitting in his pocket.

'I caught one of the spiders on the wall for you!' Sirius cried and thrust the poor spider into Edward's livid face. The receiver of the gift let out a high-pitched scream and leapt up from his seat, sprinting out of the Great Hall, still attempting to remove the eight-legged creature. 'Don't you like it?' Sirius yelled after him, smirking widely. He turned to the two females and winked at them. Lily looked torn between smiling and remaining neutral whilst Marlene appeared as though she might vomit. 'Hey, Ma-McKinnon, I was wondering if you wanted to-'

'No.' Marlene snapped and she too rushed from the Hall, Lily staring concernedly after her.

'To go on a date and talk things over…' Sirius finished sadly. 'I don't understand what she wants me to do, Evans…'

'Just give her some time, Sirius.' Lily responded softly, getting up to follow her best friend. 'She'll talk when she's ready…'

'And when will that be?' he asked bitterly and strode off to where James, Remus and Peter sat all laughing at something or other. She shot a sympathetic look in his direction before scurrying after Marlene. In the Entrance Hall she paused, considering where Marlene could have gone, and then made her way to the nearest girls' loos. Her guess proved correct as upon entering the toilets she spotted a familiar figure leaning on one of the marble sinks staring at their reflection.

'Marls?' Lily addressed her gently making her way towards Marlene, who seemed to be shaking slightly. Nearing her, she saw her best friend was crying – not her usual dramatic wails but small sharp gasps as tears streamed down her face. 'It's going to be okay. We-'

'But it's not going to be fucking okay!' she sobbed turning to face Lily. 'I can't face him, Lil! I just can't!' Marlene sank to the floor and Lily wrapped her arms around her consolingly. She hummed quietly while Marlene cried into her and rocked her best friend slightly hoping to bring a little comfort.

Then, there was a knock on the door. It creaked open to reveal Professor McGonagall standing in the threshold, her arms folded.

'Professor!' Lily exclaimed, shocked, and Marlene sat up hastily wiping tears from her face.

'Mr Potter's looking for you, Miss Evans. I believe you are required for something.' Professor McGonagall informed the red head sternly but Lily didn't move from beside Marlene.

'Professor… I'm a little busy… James can manage by himself…' She glanced at Marlene, who had stopped crying but was hiccupping silently.

'Miss McKinnon, I distinctly remember advising you to make the most of this…er…situation with Mr Black.' Professor McGonagall's mouth had become a thin line as she observed the tear stained student sitting beside the Head girl. 'This is not what I would call making the most of your situation.'

'I…'

'It would do you a great deal of good to discuss things with Mr Black. There's no use crying like a herd of hiccupping hippopotami when there are solutions to be made!' she said briskly, moving swiftly towards the two girls. 'Miss Evans, help me bring her to the Hospital Wing. I think a calming draught is in order and then we must return to the Great Hall. I am sure Mr Potter will be quite frantic with worry at your absence already.'

It took a good half an hour to persuade Marlene to leave the toilets and Professor McGonagall decided that Lily should return to the Great Hall while she brought Marlene to the Hospital Wing. Lily agreed begrudgingly and watched Professor McGonagall guide her best friend up the staircase before turning and returning to the Halloween Feast. James waved her frantically over upon her entry and she shuffled over to where he sat with the rest of the Marauders. Sirius was glowering at his ghost shaped chocolate pudding and although the other three kept shooting apprehensive glances towards him they seemed generally quite cheerful.

Lily sat down beside James and they began muttering to one another in low voices as all around them students and teachers indulged in the Halloween spirit. The Feast so far had been a great success and everyone was already in a positive mindset regarding the Head boy and girl but the two Heads had one more trick up their sleeve. They shared a meaningful glance and flicked their wands in identical fashion.

Instantly, everyone cried out in shock as rain began to pour down from the enchanted ceiling. The raindrops refracted a message _HAPPY HALLOWEEN_ to form on the wall behind the staff table and soon the rain was joined by loud claps of thunder and flashes of lighting. The storm raged across the Great Hall and many students looked up in awe to feel the rain on their already soaking faces. Then across the sky another flash of lightning streaked through the torrential rain and Lily's eyes lit up happily at the sound of more shrieks.

'I think we did well, Lily.' James said, nudging her arm lightly.

'We make a good team.' Lily agreed, beaming up at him in a way that caused his insides to turn about as fluid as the rain that fell on their heads. She twirled around, splashing in a puddle of water formed on the floor, and James watched her with a lopsided grin forming.

She spotted Professor McGonagall quietly slip into the Great Hall with Marlene in tow. Lily squeezed James' hand and excused herself, making her way towards her best friend and the two girls joined in with their roommates attempting to catch the rain on their tongues.

* * *

Wrapping Sirius' birthday present had taken Lily longer than she'd anticipated even with magic to aid her so she only just stowed it away before Marlene entered the dormitory the night before she was due to gift it. Her best friend had walked around for the past two days in a defeated mood knowing Professor McGonagall was right but not wanting to act on the correct path. Instead, she wandered around morosely, an attitude mirrored by Sirius, who seemed to have given up talking to her for the time being. Lily was glad he'd given Marlene some space to make up her own mind but still grew intensely worried as she watched the two of them move about the castle in their own depressive clouds. She hoped Sirius' birthday would offer a slight cheer in the ever-present sadness because otherwise she was seriously considering secretly casting Cheering Charms on each of them.

'I bought him tickets to a Hobgoblins concert.' Marlene said as though continuing a conversation they'd been having. Lily looked at her sharply, unsure if she'd heard her best friend correctly.

'W-who?' she asked cautiously.

'Who d'you think?' Marlene responded with an extravagant sigh, flopping down onto Lily's bed as she did so.

'Voldemort?'

'No, you fucking twat!' Marlene laughed slightly and began hitting Lily with her own pillow. 'Sirius Black! Fucking Sirius Black!' She continued to whack Lily with pillow and soon Lily had grabbed Marlene's pillow and was fighting back. They continued their pillow fight for a while but eventually stopped, a little out of breath, and sank back down onto Lily's bed.

'I'm sure he'll love them.' Lily assured her. The best friends stared at Lily's four-poster's canopy for a moment in a companionable silence.

'I'm not ready to grow up, Lil.' Marlene spoke into the silence and Lily rolled over to face her with a small frown in place.

'What d'you mean?'

'I'm not ready to be responsible…' She sniffed. 'Mum's been driving be round the bend in her last few letters. It's all "what job d'you want?" or "I've found a flat you might like". I just fucking can't! I'm not ready…'

'I don't think anyone's ever ready for anything.' Lily told her quietly. 'You can be physically ready but mentally everyone goes in blind – like being parents for example. My dad always says every day it's like starting again and at the end of the day he thinks he's learnt everything but the next day it's all different to the day before.' She smiled slightly to herself.

'I'm fucked though, aren't I?' Marlene let out a hollow laugh.

'No, you're not.' Lily replied nudging her gently. 'You have to think more positively about the future. You can't control it but you have to do all you can to make the best of it.' She sighed. 'I wish we could control the future though…'

'I'm scared shitless.' Marlene admitted and looked disgustedly at the four-poster hangings. 'Why does the Ministry have to be so fucking picky?'

'I thought you wanted to work for the Daily Prophet.'

'I do but Mum and Dad would do their nut if I said I wanted to be a Daily Prophet reporter.' Her expression turned moody and pulled out her wand. She twirled it between her fingers and continued to scowl. 'No, it's fucking at the Ministry this and at the Ministry that every moment of the fucking day.' Marlene stood up and walked over to her own bed and kicked it. 'I HATE THE FUCKING MINISTRY!' Lily watched her nervously as she punched one of her bed posts. 'Every letter it's like "we'll support you with whatever you go on to do" but really they mean "we'll support you as long as you join the Ministry and bore yourself to death for the rest of your fucking life – be just like your mum; she worked there until she was ruddy 33 and then she had kids – that's exactly what your life should be like and if it's not: how dare you set such a poor example for your brother!"'

She stood there for a moment taking long steadying breaths and staring at a point just past her bed.

'And I don't want that life.' Marlene whispered. 'I want to have fun and I want to travel and I want to make something of myself in a job that I don't do just to pay my fucking bills! But I can't have that life…'

'Maybe you should tell your parents that.' Lily suggested, moving to stand next to her and squeezing her hand. 'You don't have to say it face to face… Write to them.'

'Why're you always so sensible?' Marlene said with a small grin in Lily's direction.

'I'm not that sensible.'

'Yes, you fucking are! Don't even try to fucking deny it, Lily Evans!' She hugged Lily tightly. 'What did I do to deserve a best friend like you?'

'You punched Sirius in the face while we waited for our Sorting to start.' Lily respond and the two best friends began laughing madly late into the night.

Sirius' birthday dawned and Lily headed down to breakfast with Marlene in good spirits. Her companion was less positively inclined as mornings did not agree with her and she cursed at a 4th year, who accidently bumped into her, as they reached the Great Hall. They seated themselves a little way along the table and dumped their school bags beside them. Eating their breakfast quietly, the two girls looked towards the door waiting for Sirius to appear.

Remus arrived first and Lily waved him over. He hurried towards them with a present in hand and sat down beside Marlene, who had started dozing with her head drooping over her cereal. Helping himself to a piece of toast he looked questioningly at Lily and she pointed to her bulging school bag for explanation. He nodded and bit into his toast. There was silence while Lily and Remus ate (and Marlene slept).

Then James and Peter entered the Great Hall and gave the three of them a thumbs up. Lily and Remus nudged Marlene urgently and she opened her eyes grumpily.

'What?' she snapped.

'Sirius is on his way.' Lily informed her and her best friend leapt to her feet, suddenly wide awake.

'Well, I'm out of here.' Marlene thrust and envelope addressed to Sirius onto the table and practically sprinted off.

'Marls!' Lily called after her but Remus shook his head knowing it was pointless. They watched Marlene stride out of the Hall and almost crash into the person she was attempting to avoid. Upon noticing him she did indeed run and left behind her a slightly depressed looking Sirius. James and Peter guided him over to where Remus and Lily sat and then all at once Sirius' four friends cried:

'HAPPY BIRTHDAY!'

One by one they handed him their gifts and before Lily handed him her own she gave him the envelope from Marlene.

'It's from Marlene…' she told him quietly and he took it cautiously. As he opened it, his face filled with delight and he looked around as though hoping to see her standing there. She was of course nowhere to be seen and he hastily put the envelope down and accepted the interestingly packed parcel Lily held out to him. 'I hope you like it.'

Sirius ripped open the paper to reveal a black leather jacket. He stared at it for a moment in absolute silence.

'It's a leather jacket.' she said unnecessarily and searched his face nervously for any signs of dislike. Sirius didn't give her a verbal response rather he hugged her and she smiled in relief, hugging him back. In the entrance of the Great Hall, Marlene watched the exchange and when she caught her best friend's eye, the two girls shared a nod of understanding.

 **Please Review :)**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Thank you for your reviews - I'm really glad people are enjoying the story.**

* * *

 **Chapter 19: Aggression**

* * *

James had decided on the night of the Slug Club that he would ask Lily on a date and this time make sure that it was obvious that they were not just going as two friends. Technically, the two Heads had been out on what others would definitely class as a form of date but as neither had ever specified whether it was a platonic event or not, their 'dates' had never had the romantic atmosphere James would have hoped for.

And so, he was now searching for Lily. It was late evening two days after Sirius' birthday and he had scanned the Marauders Map for a good 20 minutes in the Head office attempting to find the dot labelled Lily Evans. But once again, it was absent. James frowned. The Marauders Map never lied nor did it malfunction and yet twice in this single school year had Lily's name vanished from within the inky walls of the parchment. He sighed and got to his feet thinking he would ask Marlene, who he'd spotted earlier in the Gryffindor common room.

Marlene was indeed in the common room sitting in an armchair near the girls' staircase and although she seemed deeply engrossed in her copy of _Quidditch Cognizance_ on occasion her eyes would drift above the magazine and dart around the room warily. James smirked to himself and crept up on her, waiting for the right moment to speak.

'McKinnon!' he said loudly and she practically jumped out of her skin, throwing the magazine into the air in shock.

'Shit in a basket and send it off to Voldemort!' she cursed and turned around to face him, clutching at her heart. 'James fucking Potter!' He continued to smirk. 'What d'you want?'

'D'you know where Lily is?' James asked, picking up the magazine and handing it to her.

'Yes.' Marlene responded and accepted her _Quidditch Cognizance_ without a word of thanks. She returned to reading an article about a new style of Bludger set to be used in the next World Cup and began ignoring James.

'And?'

'And what?' she snapped but did not look up.

'Where is she?'

'Just cos I know doesn't mean I'm going to fucking tell you.'

'Why not?' James complained and she whacked him on the head with the corner of her magazine. 'Fucking hell, McKinnon!' he cried, rubbing his forehead.

'Because I'm not.' There was evidently a reason why but Marlene saw no reason to inform James of it. He huffed and sat down on the armrest of the armchair as Marlene began reading again. While she read, James picked at a loose thread in the fabric and pouted.

'Marlie-Parlie…' he whined and was instantly shoved off the armchair.

'Don't you fucking dare call me that!' Marlene shouted. There was fire in her eyes and no Lily to calm her down. The nickname Marlie-Parlie had evoked some bittersweet memories that where not welcomed by the fiery female. 'You're a fucking wanker, Potter! Just fuck off!'

Marlene stormed up the girls' staircase making sure to kick James in a sensitive male area as she did so. He lay on the common room floor grunting in pain with his mind racing.

* * *

Lily stood on the Astronomy Tower, leaning against the balcony wall, and looked up at the sky above. She watched a specific star and after a moment she spoke to it.

'Hi, Grandad…' she whispered in the direction of the star. It was not the brightest nor the biggest star in the sky but to Lily it was absolutely perfect. The 5th of November, Bonfire Night in the Muggle world, was an important day for her but it was a day she had marked in this way only once before; today was the day her deceased grandfather had first fallen ill three years ago. 'How're things up with you? Not too bad I hope. We miss you down here… Tuney's having a baby and she's married now.' She sighed, a single tear trickling down her cheek and dropping off her chin onto her jumper. 'Gran misses you. She's worse without you and I think she's lonely. Henry visits her a lot but it's not the same I suppose… Our wisteria was growing well last time I saw it. It's reached the height of the house now according to Mum and Dad.' The November air was harsh and cold but Lily ignored it. 'I'm Head girl now… I remember you took me to the garden centre when I got my Prefect badge and we bought that olive tree as a reward – it's quite big now… Dad and I had to move it to a new pot.'

She fell silent for a moment and closed her eyes. Lily felt the wind rush past her, ruffling her hair, and heard it howl as it passed. It was so peaceful.

* * *

James had got tentatively to his feet and looked once in the direction of the girls' dormitory with a regretful expression before turning his gaze to the portrait hole as though he though Lily would enter at that precise moment. He was distracted, however, by a fluffy ginger purring thing rubbing against his leg. Nigel tilted his head sideways and examined him shrewdly before letting out a loud mew. James knelt down and stroked the kitten affectionately though his forehead knitted into a frown.

'I don't suppose you know where Lily is, Nig…' James said to the kitten and laughed lightly. Nigel stretched and began slinking indignantly towards the portrait hole. Having nothing better to do, James decided to follow him and he walked after his quarry for about 5 minutes. They reached the foot of the stairs leading to the top Astronomy Tower and Nigel propped his front paws on the bottom step. 'She's up there?'

Nigel mewed in response and then sprinted off down the corridor, leaving James at the base of the staircase staring after him. He shook his head slightly and began to trudge up the stairs. As he neared the top, he heard a familiar voice and stopped to listen.

'I miss you too. I really wish I'd shown you some magical plants – I think you'd have loved them and when I'm in Herbology I always think about how you told me to care for plants. In first year, Professor Sprout was showing us how to trim Flutterby bushes and it was exactly how you'd taught me…' There was a pause. 'Do you hate me for not telling you I'm a witch?' James climbed a few more steps and now he could see Lily standing there. She had produced a long object and had rested it on the balcony wall. With her wand she lit part of it and stepped back as a second later a small firework shot into the sky. 'Happy Bonfire Night, Grandad.' she murmured and James finished climbing the stairs.

Lily didn't hear him come towards her, she was too engrossed in the starry night sky, and jumped slightly when James put his hoodie gently around her shoulders.

'You'll catch a cold out here.' he said simply and she smiled at him.

'Won't you be cold?' Lily asked worriedly, starting to remove his jumper but James put his hands on her shoulders to stop her.

'That's what magic's for.' James grinned and conjured a small set of bluebell flames which floated before them radiating heat. Lily felt a little stupid and directed her gaze back at the sky.

'The sky's always so beautiful.' she said with a sigh.

'I dunno. When it's grey it's kind of ugly.' James responded with a shrug.

'Well, everyone has bad days.' Lily reasoned.

'You don't.' he said cheekily and she felt her cheeks turn scarlet. Lily mumbled something inaudible and James smirked widely. 'Admit it, Lily. Admit you're practically perfect in every way.'

'T-that's Mary Poppins.' she whispered, still bright red.

'Who?' He frowned. 'I'm guessing she's a Muggle…'

'She's a fictional character – a nanny who helps children in troubled homes.' James listened with benign interest. 'She has magical powers of a sort and flies with her umbrella.'

'Magical powers? So, she's a witch.'

'No one really knows.' Lily smiled. 'I think she's wonderful.'

'Right…' For a moment James admired Lily's smiling face but then he forced himself to concentrate on the conversation. 'I didn't read much as a kid. Wizards don't have many books for anyone who isn't of age. I liked being outdoors better anyway.'

'You played Quidditch with Marlene, didn't you?' Lily checked. 'She talks about it sometimes…though not a lot anymore…'

'That was when we were kids… We always planned to be on the Gryffindor team together. When we got on it didn't really matter to her anymore.' James' face saddened as he thought about the childhood he had had.

'I think you know why that was…' Lily said quietly and James looked at her sharply.

'She never told me what I did wrong.' he snapped and Lily immediately stared at her feet, ashamed of bringing up a sensitive topic. 'One day we were best mates and the next she spits in front of my feet and doesn't want anything to do with me.'

'Marlene was hurt when you…' Lily trailed off at the sight of the anger in James' eyes.

'When I what?' he asked furiously. She stepped back in fright and watched him with wide eyes.

'Well…you d-defended Sirius a-'

'So that's her problem? She hates me cos I defended Sirius?' James thundered.

'It was right after he… I'm sorry, James… It's not mine to tell…' Lily took another step away from him.

'WHY DOES EVERYONE INSIST ON KEEPING ME IN THE DARK?' James bellowed and Lily jumped in shock. 'MCKINNON KNOWS WHY, SIRIUS KNOWS WHY AND EVEN YOU KNOW WHY BUT JAMES? NO, HE'S GOT TO BE SHUT OUT! HE'S GOT NO FUCKING RIGHT TO KNOW WHY MCKINNON HATES HIM!'

Lily's eyes glistened with tears as he threw the bluebell flames at the wall in fury and glowered murderously in her direction. But then she drew herself up and opened her mouth.

'You're a coward.' she said, her voice low and filled with a sudden venom. This reaction had evidently not been what James had been expecting for his face showed rather obvious shock.

'What?' he asked, anger quickly being replaced with disbelief.

'I said you're a coward.' Lily informed him, something dark flickering in her emerald eyes. 'You're too scared to ask Marlene why she h-dislikes you but because you can't admit that to yourself you decide to take it out on me. You're nothing but a coward, James Potter.'

'Don't you dare call me _that_!' James spat the last word as though it tasted foul on his tongue.

'James Potter? But that's your name, isn't it?' Lily queried, her voice nothing but sugary as her fists curled.

'Don't you dare call me a – a coward!'

'And why shouldn't I?' Lily challenged. 'It's only the truth.'

'I'M NOT A COWARD!' James roared, spittle spraying from his mouth. Lily did not even flinch as the droplets of saliva rained down on her.

'Could've fooled me.' Lily replied coolly.

'I thought you understood me, Lily.' James seemed to deflate a little, though he still looked furious.

'I could say the same about you in regards to me because if _you_ knew me then you would never've been surprised that I reacted to you talking about _my_ best mate like that.' Lily narrowed her eyes. 'Marlene is the best mate in the entire world and you were wrong to be shocked that I'm pissed about you talking shit about her – she has stuck with me through everything and you don't know shit about her or me so you can go fuck off like you're denial for what you are: a coward.'

'If anyone's the coward, it's you.' James hissed but his face betrayed significant astonishment at Lily's speech. 'If you weren't you'd never've let McClaggen get away with the things he did to you so don't tell me I'm a fucking coward when you let him walk all over you!'

She took a deep breath, her hands shaking, and pushed past him, running away from the Astronomy Tower as fast as her legs could carry her. Where she was headed she didn't know. The only thing in her mind was to run and fast. Through corridor after corridor she fled passing many a portrait that called after her but she ignored them, sprinting faster and faster away from the livid Head boy.

And then she found out why the portraits had been shouting as she ran headlong into Professor McGonagall, who had been scolding Moaning Myrtle for flooding the first floor. The two females fell crashing to the floor, right into the water which flooded the whole corridor. Myrtle took the opportunity to flee the scene wailing loudly. Lily leapt to her feet and instantly offered a hand to her Professor as she stammered her apology.

'I'm s-so sorry, Professor!' she gasped. Professor McGonagall pulled herself up and fixed her with a stern expression. Then, she magically dried their clothes. 'I-I wasn't looking where I was going.'

'That much is obvious.' Professor McGonagall responded dryly. 'But you had better run out of here quickly before Mr Filch arrives and blames you for this atrocity.' She indicated the flooded water with disgust.

'I-thank you, Professor…' Lily almost curtsied but then realised what she was doing. She began to pull back a tapestry, which concealed a hidden passageway.

'And remember, Miss Evans,' Professor McGonagall added as she stepped behind the tapestry, 'punching Mr Potter is still an option.' Lily would have gaped at her had she not been in danger of being yelled at by Filch and instead she chose the much safer option of jogging her way back to Gryffindor Tower.

* * *

During the next few days things between certain 7th year Gryffindors were awkward to say the least. James walked the castle in a foul mood glowering at everyone and everything whilst Lily became increasingly nervous around him as she waited with baited breath for him to lash out at her or someone else. Marlene had taken to snapping at anything with a pulse, except Lily, and most avoided her like the plague. Sirius had attempted to approach her only to be yelled at for 10 minutes before she ran off leaving him hurt and confused; Lily had found her best friend bawling her eyes out with regretful tears in the girls' dormitory. A baffled Mary MacDonald had entered seconds later by complete coincidence and been shouted at to leave by the teary-eyed Marlene with Lily mouthing an apology in the background.

Things improved slightly as time wore on but Lily still found herself highly apprehensive for her patrol duty with James. Remus had offered to swap with her in an attempt to save her from James' wrath but Lily argued it was better to talk sooner than later. Even so she was extremely nervous as she tapped him on the shoulder, while he played a game of exploding snap with Sirius and Peter, to alert him to the fact it was time to patrol. She removed her hand quickly and watched him warily as he turned around.

'Oh, patrols… Right.' James stood up and put his cards down, accidently causing the pack to explode. 'Shit!' He tried stamping out the flames with his arms whilst Sirius let out a bark of laughter and Peter chuckled beside him. Lily's mouth formed a slight smile but it vanished as soon as James was ready to leave.

'Have fun you two!' Sirius called after them. 'No snogging on duty!'

The entire common room fell silent at his words and everyone turned to stare at the Head boy and girl. James sent a stinging hex at Sirius which hit his smirking face and he doubled over clutching his forehead. Lily sighed and dragged her fellow Head out of the common room. As they climbed out of the portrait hole, Sirius wolf whistled loudly and it took all of Lily's strength to keep James from running back in and punching him.

'He's only joking.' Lily said tiredly as they began to patrol.

'Yes but-'

'Leave him, James.' she whispered. He glanced down at her and saw Lily was watching him with a slightly saddened expression.

'What?' he asked a little self-consciously, reaching up to run a hand through his hair.

'Hm?'

'You were staring at me…'

'Oh… Was I?' Lily looked lost and she frowned at him.

'Just admiring my good looks, I suppose?'

'Definitely.' she agreed with a light chuckle. James grinned at her and mimed flicking hair off his shoulders.

'Well, I am a dark haired Quidditch player,' he said evenly but then smirked evilly at her. 'And I hear they're _really fit_.' Lily blanched as she remembered the conversation he was referring to. Their train journey to Hogwarts had seemed like such a long time ago. So much had happened since then… 'Merlin, Lily, you're starting to scare me…' Lily was still walking beside him but her eyes had gone out of focus as her mind worked furiously. 'Lily!'

'I didn't do it!' Lily announced loudly as she jerked out of her reverie. James regarded her strangely but then his face spilt into an amused smile.

'Didn't do what, Miss Evans?' he questioned, nudging her. Her blush darkened considerably.

'I… Myrtle flooded the first floor.' she said, looking over his shoulder determinately.

'That was days ago. You feeling okay?' James scanned her flushed face worriedly.

'Yes.' Lily nodded firmly. 'Shall we walk through the dungeons first?'

'Sure.' His face turned suspicious. 'We usually do those last… Why -'

'It adds a bit of variation to our rounds.' Lily answered brightly and started humming as they directed their feet towards the staircase leading down to the school dungeons. Normally, James would admire Lily while she hummed as she always looked so carefree doing so but today his eyebrows knit together. She always managed to confuse him slightly but this was different; Lily was up to something but what it was, James didn't know.

'By the way,' James murmured, looking at his feet, 'I'm sorry about all that stuff I said. I overreacted…'

'Apology accepted if you accept mine too – I shouldn't have said some of those things to you.'

'You are forgiven, Miss Evans, if only because I'm impressed you can actually swear.' James responded and she elbowed him gently.

'I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone about that.'

'Your secret's safe with me.' He grinned and she smiled slightly before beginning to hum once more.

The temperature dropped significantly with every stair they descended and soon the Head boy and girl could see their breath rising before them. Lily cast warming charms but there was only so much magic could do and James held her close to him so that they could conserve body heat. Their progress through the eerily lit dungeons was slowed by this huddling so it took them longer than usual to reach the end of the corridor.

When they turned the corner, James noticed Lily stopped humming and began to smile widely at something ahead of them. He followed her gaze and his eyes landed on an isolated portrait hanging. As they neared the elaborately carved black frame, James could see the painting inside of it. A black-haired wizard with a pointy black beard resided in a large, imperious looking armchair and observed the two 17-year-olds whilst smoking a pipe. He regarded them with a single raised eyebrow and James immediately felt himself growing defensive. Lily, however, was beaming at the wizard and as she looked directly at the painting there was an element of approval in the wizard's expression.

'So, the red head returned?' he observed lazily, letting out a large puff of smoke.

'Yes, Mr Nigellus.' Lily nodded firmly and James' eyes widened in realisation.

'I know you!' James burst out and ran a hand excitedly through his unkempt hair. 'You're Phineas Nigellus! There's a portrait of you in Dumbledore's office!'

'What an awe-inspiring revelation.' Phineas drawled and examined the intricate Black family crest on his pipe. 'I was under the impression the Head boy was chosen for their brains and overall contribution to the school. Evidently not…'

'Listen you! I-' James snarled but broke off as Lily's small hand closed over his much larger one. He stared at her and she smiled softly at him. James felt his anger melt swiftly away to be replaced with a pleasant floating sensation.

'Mr Nigellus, I was wondering if you knew where a group of students containing _certain members_ I mentioned when we last spoke were meeting – last time you told me they would be meeting tonight…' Lily looked at the painting with her absentminded smile and he took a long drag on his pipe before exhaling and answering through a haze of smoke.

'Is the idiot here to stay?' Phineas indicated James, who huffed but said nothing; Lily's hand over his was still filling him with a fuzzy, warm and comforting bubble.

'James is here to stay.' Lily smiled happily. 'He's extremely good at sneaking around the castle… He made an enchanted map of Hogwarts with his friends.' James broke out of his daze rather abruptly. How, he thought, did she know about the Marauder's Map? Then again, this was Lily he was talking about… James made a mental note to ask Remus about it later.

'A map?' Phineas Nigellus cast a disdainful look in his direction. 'It concerns me that a 7th year still requires a map to navigate their way about the castle.'

James, who was very proud of the Marauder's Map, let out a low growl. He looked close to ripping the portrait off the wall and stamping all over it but Lily squeezed his hand and his face instantly softened.

'Yes, a map.' Lily nodded and James thought for a moment he saw a look of mischief flicker across her face. 'But that's not what we're here to discuss…'

'Ah, of course… Where were we?' Phineas Nigellus studied the pair of 17-year-olds for a moment. 'A group of students containing certain members?' James sighed impatiently but beside him Lily nodded encouragingly. 'I believe in Dungeon 13 there is to be a gathering tonight. If one were to spy on them, I recommend the unused storage cupboard.'

'Thank you, Mr Nigellus.'

'Indeed.' he said crisply but James noticed him nod at Lily in an almost friendly manner before he spared a disgusted glare in his direction.

The Head boy and girl hurried along the corridor until they reached the dungeon labelled with a number 13. Lily hastily cast disillusionment charms over the pair of them and they slid cautiously into the room. No one was there yet so they were able to conceal themselves in the cupboard easily. However, it was a small space and Lily was pressed up against James so that they could both fit. Luckily, it was pitch black in the storage cupboard so James couldn't see how scarlet Lily had become at being in such close proximity to him.

'How did you know to ask Phi-' James' question was cut of by Lily accidently stepping on his toe as she heard the distinct sound of people entering the dungeon.

'So… Are the rumours true?' Mucliber's voice sneered. ' _You've_ managed to contact the Dark Lord?'

'I wouldn't have organised this meeting if I hadn't.' Snape responded coolly and in the background, someone snickered.

'What are you laughing at?' Mulciber snapped.

'Just at how idiotic you always manage to sound.' Regulus Black spoke from what sounded like the corner nearest the storage cupboard. There was the sound of feet storming towards cupboard but the halted abruptly.

'Leave the kid, Aaron.' Avery commanded in drawling tones.

'I'm only a year younger than you lot.' Regulus grumbled.

'And a year makes all the difference.' Snape sighed irritably. 'Now, to business. The Dark Lord is willing to meet us and there we shall be able to offer our services. As it stands I have yet to receive an exact date for that meeting but rest assured when the time comes you shall all be made aware.'

'Is that all?'

'The Dark Lord has also pressed upon me to find as many willing students as possible to bring to this meeting so until we receive an exact date that will be our main objective.' There was a murmur of assent and the distinct sound of four pairs of feet leaving the dungeon.

Lily and James remained hidden in the storage cupboard and it was a long time before they dared open the door.

 **Please Review :)**

 **Now that is what I like to say 'oooh, drama' to. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: I'm very sorry if you're a Quidditch trivia whizz because some of the techniques mentions during the upcoming match may be fouls but I'm not sure. Sorry. I hope you enjoy this chapter anyway.**

 **Also, I've just added another chapter to _The Adventures of Andromeda Black_ so I recommend you read that story as well - who doesn't like a bit of shameless plugging? Sorry. Again.**

* * *

 **Chapter 20: Quidditch**

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The stands around the Quidditch pitch were abuzz with excitement and anticipation; the sound of excited students was clearly audible inside the Gryffindor team's changing room. Sirius and Stewart Andrews, the Gryffindor Keeper, were doing press-ups on the floor whilst Marlene swung her bat around letting out her pre-match stress on the air around her. Kingsley and Frank, the two Chasers other than James, jogged lightly on the spot as they murmured last minute tactics. The Gryffindor Seeker, a female 3rd year named Katie Richards, did stretches in the far corner of the changing room.

Then the door to the Captain's changing room burst open and in bounded James, who beamed at everyone with a boyish glint in his eyes.

'Right, team!' he announced, grinning broadly. 'This is it! We've trained. We've put in our blood, sweat and tears. We've had fights and we've had laughs but today we've just got to play.'

'Bloody hell! Didn't realise this was the final already.' Sirius muttered to Marlene and only just missed the bat swinging in his direction. She shot him a slightly shocked and apologetic look to which he responded with a wink; her expression turned panicked and she turned quickly away.

'Pads, stop making eyes at McKinnon and focus!' James snapped and Sirius scowled at him. 'As I was saying, we've just got to play and keep focused. We deserve to win and we will!'

There was a murmur of assent from everyone on the team and James whooped loudly.

'Come on, Gryffindor!' they cheered and, with their brooms over their shoulders, the Gryffindor team strode out of the changing room onto the pitch, their heads held high. There was a sudden uproar in the volume of the stands as everyone applauded the teams entering the pitch or good-naturedly booed the opposing team in match day spirit. The crowd stamped their feet and chanted player's names as the teams lined up opposite one another. Today the match was Gryffindor against Ravenclaw and both teams nodded at each other.

The young, newly employed, Hogwarts Quidditch teacher (and referee) Madame Hooch stepped in between them and called for the Captains to shake hands. James, with his match adrenalin beginning to sink in, shook his counterpart's, a 6th year named Henry Goldstein, hand with enthusiasm. Henry looked slightly queasy, it was his first time being Captain, but warmed a little at the jovial manner James treated him with.

'Now, I want a fair game with all of you following the rules to the letter.' Madame Hooch said loudly so that all the players could hear. James thumped Henry on the back and then strolled back to his team for a final 'heads together'. A minute later and the first whistle blew, signalling the players to fly into the air. Once they were all on their brooms and hovering a certain height in the air, the second whistle blew, signalling the balls being released. As the Quaffle was thrown in the air and the Bludgers and Snitch began to zoom through the air, the players started to play.

The game had begun.

The Quaffle flew high in the air and then, as gravity took its toll, it fell slowly downwards sparking four players to pelt towards it. All three of the Ravenclaw Chasers and Kingsley plummeted down with the ball but Kingsley easily caught it out of the air as the other three Chasers crashed into one another. Putting on a fresh spurt of speed he rocketed upwards and dropped the ball to Frank, who had been circling below him. With a kind of intricate twisting movement, James and Kingsley began to flank Frank from behind so that the three Chasers formed an arrow in the air as they flew through the air towards the Ravenclaw goal posts.

Moments later and Frank had scored. The red-clad supporters in the crowd cheered and waved their flags frantically in celebration. James chuckled slightly as the Ravenclaw Keeper almost fell off his broom whilst retrieving the falling Quaffle. He threw it to one of his teams' Chasers but just as they reached out to catch it, a Bludgers, flying out of nowhere, collided with the Quaffle, causing it to ricochet of course. James caught the Quaffle easily and winked at the Ravenclaw Chaser, who turned slightly pink before glowering at Marlene, who had been responsible for hitting the Bludger. She saluted in response and then zoomed off with a delighted smile. The Chaser let out an indignant huff and James let out a laugh as he went to score another goal.

After scoring, the three Gryffindor Chasers began to circle above the Ravenclaw Chasers as though they were hawks and the Quaffle their prey. Their rivals did not seem to mark them as they made their way in the direction of the Gryffindor goal posts and when Kingsley, Frank and James all dived towards them they didn't notice until it was too late. Skilfully, Kinsley plucked the Quaffle out of one of the Ravenclaw Chasers' grasp and threw it with a grin to James, who caught it and passed it to Frank. The three Gryffindors continued this passing technique until they reached the scoring area and the Quaffle landed in James' hand. He flung it at one of the goal posts and high fived his fellow Chasers as the Ravenclaw Keeper made a lunge for the ball and missed.

An hour later and Ravenclaw had pulled back by scoring twice but Gryffindor had surpassed them by a brilliant hattrick of James Potter's doing not to mention Frank and Kingsley also scoring so that that score became 20:80 to Gryffindor. Sirius and Marlene had been quite a hindrance on the Ravenclaw teams' part after winding their best Chaser with an excellent hit from Sirius as well as many more perfectly aimed hits by Marlene causing the Quaffle to be deflected away from their Chasers on several occasions. The two Seekers sent their time scanning the pitch from high above looking for the Snitch and had been in one dramatic diving session already when the Snitch had been spotted near Madame Hooch's left foot. Meanwhile, the Keepers had had their work cut out with attempting to block the Quaffle hurled in their direction by the Chasers at irregular intervals; Stewart had been much more successful than his Ravenclaw counterpart and expertly circled the Gryffindor goal posts with his well-trained eyes never once leaving the Quaffle.

But as it began to grow dark and as James lazily scored another goal, the Seekers, Katie and Henry, began a furious race to a barely visible glint of gold in the centre of the pitch. While everyone was distracted by the two jostling one another as they pelted forwards, the Ravenclaw Chaser who James had winked at earlier batted her eyelashes in his direction. She was disappointed, however, for the Gryffindor Chasers had taken the opportunity of scoring without the Ravenclaw Keeper paying attention and therefore she received no reaction. Henry shoved into Katie roughly, almost knocking her off her broom, but the 3rd year held her ground and with a sweet smile in his direction, she closed her hands around their golden quarry and as the whistle to signal the end of the match blew, Katie kicked at a specific point on the underside of his broom causing his eyes to water with pain.

'I taught her that.' Marlene said proudly as she and Sirius flew towards the rest of their Gryffindor comrades for a celebratory group hug. Her fellow Beater gulped as his mind presented him with several recollections of Marlene doing the same to him.

The Gryffindor team happily hugged each other and flew back to the ground as one red blur. Supporters spilled onto the pitch and soon the players were being lifted up onto shoulders of the jubilant crowd. Lily watched from afar with an amused smile as Marlene held her arms up to the heavens while being carried towards the castle. She made her own way back at a much slower pace, preferring to watch the celebration from a distance, and hummed to herself as she walked.

A drop of rain landed on her cheek and trickled down as though it was a tear. She lifted a hand slowly upwards and wiped it away before looking up towards the heavens. Lily smiled as she felt more water land on her face and there she stood for a long time just allowing the rain to drench her very being.

* * *

A little while later and she reached Gryffindor Tower where the victory party was already full in swing. Her eyes scanned the room as she magically dried herself and she quickly found Marlene, who was downing a shot of firewhisky. Remus stood slightly to the side of her talking to Emmeline Vance; his face was eager while he watched she gesticulated about something or other and Lily smiled to herself at the sight of them. Sirius and Peter were entertaining a group of females with what was evidently a fascinating story as all the girls watched with rapt attention.

'Hey, Lily.' a voice greeted and she turned to see Stewart Andrews standing beside her with two bottles of butterbeer. 'Want one?'

'Sure.' She smiled at him as he handed her a bottle. 'Thank you.' They both opened their bottles with their teeth and Stewart clinked his butterbeer against hers with a grin. The 5th year had been quite taken with Lily ever since she had prevented Filch from giving him a detention in his 3rd year after he'd accidently spilt pickled rats' eyes all over his Potion classroom's floor.

'You were really good.'

'Oh, well, Ravenclaw aren't that good a team.' he said offhandedly, taking a sip of his butterbeer and puffing out his chest slightly.

'I wouldn't know…' Lily mumbled into her own drink.

'Doyouwanttodancewithme?' Stewart asked in a rush, blushing deeply as she looked at him in surprise.

'I-'

'It's okay if you don't want to.' He attempted to regain his cool. The 5th year still looked extremely embarrassed but he looked in wonder at the girl beside him. Unfortunately for Stewart, Lily was completely oblivious of his regard for her.

'No, no… I'd love to.' Lily smiled softly and drained the rest of her butterbeer. Stewart apprehensively offered her his hand and they moved towards a cleared space in the common room where several people were already dancing to a song by the Hobgoblins. Lily danced cheerfully enough but her partner was extremely stiff and nervous.

'Maybe I was wrong…' Sirius pondered out loud as he appeared beside James, who was watching Lily dance with a glazed expression. The sound of Sirius' voice caused James to jerk back to senses and his ears began to tinge pink.

'About what?'

'Lily not going for toy boys.' he said thoughtfully and smirked as James looked at him sharply. 'Well, go on then.' He thumped James on the back, pushing him forwards. 'If she's got a thing for younger blokes you're in the game, mate.'

'Oh, piss off!' James said with a grin, shoving Sirius back before strolling towards Lily as the song ended.

But James was not the only person moving towards the dancing pair. Edward strode in the direction of the two, looking livid and as though he had had a few too many drinks, with his fists curled. He reached them much faster than James and there was a split second, as the song changed to one of Celestina Warbeck's most popular numbers, where nothing happened until… WHACK!

Edward punched Stewart in the face, causing the 5th year to fall backwards. Lily cried out and attempted to hold him back but her drunken ex-boyfriend was stronger than she and wrenched himself out her grasp. Then he began beating every bit of Stewart he could reach and his victim grunted in pain each time a fist made contact with his body.

'Edward, stop it!' Lily tried to pull him back but there was a rage inside Edward which fuelled him on. He shoved her back so roughly that there was a nasty crunch as Lily's ankle broke in two. Even with the inability to walk, Lily dragged herself over to the fight, not willing to let the fight continue if she could help it. Stewart staggered to his feet and with a glance at the Head girl he kicked Edward in the chest.

There was no stopping the two boys as they grappled with one another. Blood was everywhere and most people had stopped whatever they were doing to watch. James stood there, unsure of what to do, until he saw Lily stand, on one leg, in between the two, trying to shield them from one another. There was a terrible silence as Edward misdirected the aim of his next punch, as he struggled to get his arm around Lily's stationary form, and hit her forcefully in the back of the head. She swayed on the spot and then fell sideways, right into James' arms.

'That's enough.' James' voice rang across the common room. His eyes were filled with ice as he observed Edward's bloody face. Stewart looked no better but Sirius and Marlene helped him over to a squashy red armchair where they began healing his many bruises, not to mention his broken nose. 'I'll deal with you later.' he informed Edwards as he glanced down at Lily, who was unconscious. Without another word, he lifted her bridal-style and carried her out of the portrait hole.

James all but ran his way to the Hospital Wing and burst into the ward, striding towards Madame Pomfrey, who was reorganising one of her shelves, with his jaw set.

'Mr Potter!' she said in shock and then her eyes fell on the red head lying in his arms. 'Is that Mi-'

'Yes.' James responded tersely.

'Well, what are you doing with her in your arms? Put her on a bed!' Madame Pomfrey snapped and James hastily obeyed. His face softened as he observed her unconscious form but before any worry could sink in Madame Pomfrey chivvied him out of the way and set to work. Lily's broken ankle was easily mended but then there was the problem of her head injury. The Hogwarts matron summoned a bluish bottle towards her and tipped its contents down Lily's throat. 'She'll be unconscious until the early hours of tomorrow.' she told James, who had taken to pacing on the other side of Lily's bed. 'As soon as her head injury is healed by the potion she should wake.'

'Can I stay with her?' he asked, looking down at Lily's ghostly pale skin and closed eyes. Even now after she had had her ankle broken and been knocked out by the same idiot, he thought with a bitter laugh, she was beautiful.

'Of course not!' Madame Pomfrey glared at him. 'She needs to be alone so she can heal peaceably!'

And unceremoniously she had a set of bandages chase him out of the Hospital wing.

At first James considered simply spending the night outside the Hospital Wing door but then he reconsidered after the Bloody Baron floated past, leering at him. So instead, he made his way back to Gryffindor Tower no longer in the mood to celebrate Gryffindor's victory. He trudged back with his hands in his pockets and muttered the password darkly to the Fat Lady. However, his mood seemed practically light-hearted in comparison to what happened when he entered the common room.

'Is she alright?' Marlene asked, her voice panicked. Most people had already escaped up to their dormitories now that the fight between Stewart and Edward was over; Stewart, now newly healed, was amongst them and he had made his way up to his dormitory in high spirits, his feelings for Lily increasing as he thought of how impressed she would be by his fighting for her.

'Madame Pomfrey said she'll be fine in the morning.' James assured her and although she looked comforted, Marlene still barged her way out of the portrait hole with the intent of visiting her best friend. James was tempted to tell her Madame Pomfrey wouldn't allow visitors but decided against facing Marlene's wrath. Then his eyes fell on Edward, who smirked back at him defiantly. A low growl escaped his lips as he stormed over to him. 'MCCLAGGEN, I'M GOING TO FUCKING MURDER YOU!'

Within three strides, James had reached his intended target and he pulled out his wand, rage filling his face. His fist slammed into Edward's smirking face and James felt a great satisfaction in watching the blood drip out of his nose and mouth. Then he sent a stinging hex in Edward's direction followed by another and another. Edward let out a slight whimper but James grinned and flicked his wand, causing painful looking hives to erupt all over Edward's bleeding face.

'Prongs!' Three sets of hands dragged him back.

'GET OFF ME!' He wrestled with his fellow Marauders, trying to break free and reach Edward, who was now clutching his face.

'Think of Lily!' Remus shouted at him. 'She wouldn't want you to hurt him!' James stopped struggling, his breathing heavy, and reluctantly replaced his wand in his pocket. Regret momentarily flashed across his face before he turned to glower at Edward.

'This isn't over, McClaggen.' he hissed as Sirius, Remus and Peter ushered him towards the boys' staircase. They brought him into the dormitory and only let go when he plonked down on his bed still seething. 'That little shit.'

'Prongs, we know he's a wanker and believe me we're all pissed at him but surely beating him up is a bit hypocritical.' Sirius reasoned, sitting down next to him.

'I'm not letting him get away with it.' James muttered darkly, cracking his knuckles.

'And we're not going to.' Remus said, a mischievous smile playing about his lips. Peter and Sirius grinned at him, cottoning on to his meaning.

'Yeah, how about we teach him a lesson?' Peter agreed, rubbing his hands together. 'Marauders style…'

 **Please Review :)**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: How's everyone's day been so far? Mine's been great... ish... Anyway, sorry this chapter's early but I'm not going to have any wifi on Sunday or next Sunday so the next chapter after this will be uploaded next Wednesday. Sorry.**

 **I hope you enjoy this chapter anyway!**

* * *

 **Chapter 21: Hogsmeade**

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With the month of December came a harsh snow storm that raged outside the castle walls covering everything in its path in white snow. Both Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology lessons had to be moved to classrooms inside Hogwarts castle due to the fact that no one, except Hagrid, could actually reach the greenhouses or paddock without being barrelled over by the relentless precipitation. Although the ferocious wind accompanied the snow lessened as the days went by, the snow only increased in intensity so that a protective shield had to be charmed over the streets of Hogsmeade to enable the residents to actually leave their homes. Filch and Hagrid had also been sighted shovelling a pathway from the school to the village, though their efforts were fruitless as neither of the two men had taken into consideration that the never-ending snow fall would simply fill up the dug channels once more.

Marlene and Lily walked together in this blizzard bundled up in their cloaks, scarves, hats and gloves in the direction of the village of Hogsmeade. It was the second Hogsmeade weekend of the school year and the last one to occur before Christmas meaning both females determinately battled their way down the lane because turning back would render them limited to mail order for purchasing presents.

Ever since the failed Gryffindor victory party, Lily had attempted to focus her mind on the prospect of Christmas and thus had a large list ready of gifts for most of her relatives and friends. However, she had been struggling slightly as to what to buy for the Marauders but wondered if they might need more pranking equipment. Edward had been the victim of a large number of Marauder pranks which had taken humiliation as a form of revenge to the next level. One of these retaliation pranks had occurred in a Transfiguration lesson earlier that week and had had the whole class in tears of laughter. Professor McGonagall had been less amused.

 _Transfiguration had barely lasted 10 minutes so far and Marlene was already cursing the world around her. They were revising a few spells from the start of the year, ready for a test next lesson, and ever since Professor McGonagall had announced the contents of that day's lesson Marlene had been in a foul mood. She scowled at her wand as if it was responsible for McGonagall's decision and she jabbed it moodily in front of her her, swearing loudly when her spells didn't work. Lily sat beside her, her brow furrowed, concentrating on the correct transfigure her pencil case into an intricate gold jewellery box._

 _'Professor,' Edward's voice interrupted Lily's concentration and she looked up from her work. He sat pompously at the front of the classroom, his hand in the air; when Professor McGonagall looked in his direction he waved it regally before opening his mouth to speak again. The professor raised an eyebrow. 'Personally-' he broke off as a loud pop sounded from his direction. Professor McGonagall's expression became strange and her mouth thinned considerably but she said nothing. 'Personally,' there was another pop, 'I-' another pop, 'find this spell to be entirely useless, Professor. Why would I,' Dorcas Meadows' shoulders began to shake with silent laughter in her seats next to him, 'wish to turn this pencil case into a gilded box when I,' Dorcas let out a giggle and nudged Alice Prewett, pointing at Edward, 'can easily purchase one.'_

 _'I don't know, McClaggen.' Professor McGonagall replied, her eyes flashing in the direction of Dorcas and Alice, who where both giggling uncontrollably. 'Perhaps when you learn how to carry out a romantic gesture.'_

 _'Good one, Professor!' someone called out and she glowered at them._

 _'I-'_

 _Pop._

 _Lily glanced behind her and immediately had her suspicions confirmed._

 _'I,' Pop. 'I hardly think myself incapable of a romantic gesture without this spell.' Pop, pop. 'This spell is simply unnecessary for the curriculum.'_

 _'Well, then perhaps, McClaggen, you had better write to the school board and inform them of your opinion.'_

 _'What an excellent suggestion, Professor. I think I'll-' Alice shrieked with laughter and clutched at the arm of Dorcas, who was wiping away tears. McGonagall's did not look impressed, her eyes stern as she moved her gaze to four males chuckling from the back of the classroom. Lily smiled to herself and returned her attention to her pencil case. Marlene, who had been cursing her own stationery, had noticed nothing and admittedly neither had most of the class. Waving her wand before her, Lily succeeded in her spell casting and examined the gold box before her. It really was quite gaudy and she was glad she had never invested in such a box. It sat obnoxiously on her table, smirking up at her, and Lily looked back at it with a critical eye. She hadn't ever seen something she wanted less - not exactly the perfect gift when carrying out a romantic gesture._

 _'CAN YOU TWO BE QUIET?' Edward burst out angrily, rounding on Alice and Dorcas, and Lily jumped in her seat. 'How am I-' but the rest of his sentence was drowned out by the outburst of laughter from anyone who had glanced up as he shouted._

 _Edward's face had been transfigured into that of a rather livid-looking duck. He had greyish green feathers and mean little eyes with a wide yellow beak that was quacking indignantly. Then the eyes filled with horror as Edward realised it was him quacking and he pulled a mirror frantically from his bag. Holding it before him, he let out an undignified squawk and stood up. Anyone that hadn't seen his face yet saw it and began to howl with laughter, banging their fists on their desks. Even with a duck face, he looked furious and strode over to where the Marauders sat, rolling around in their seats._

 _Roughly, he pulled James out of his seat. There was a quack; Edward had tried to spit James' surname._

 _'Is there a p-problem?' James asked, spluttering with laughter._

 _QUACK!_

 _'Sorry, Eddie, I don't speak duck-HAHAHAHAHA!' James collapsed onto the floor as he laughed and Edward let out another angry quack before he stormed from the classroom._

But despite the hilarity of the pranks, Lily was glad to be away from them for a while as she did treasure peace and quiet regardless of how noisy the people she usually surrounded herself with were.

'F-fuck this snow!' Marlene teeth chattered due to the cold as they neared the village. She may have said it loudly but the falling snow muffled her voice so Lily barely heard her. 'H-H-Honeydukes?'

'Good idea.' Lily responded, brushing off the thick layer of snow that had settled on her dark blue scarf. A sudden gust of wind howled through the air and the two best friends held onto one another for balance as they entered the high street. They hurried along the row of shops until the reached the sweet shop and gratefully entered, allowing the warm sugary air to greet them.

The brightly coloured shelves displayed all manner of fantastically delicious confectionary and, without wasting time, the two rosy cheeked girls set about picking chocolates and sweets for specific individuals. Lily ended up with quite a bit of chocolate as well as some sweets but Marlene was the reverse of her buying mainly sweets and only a little chocolate; they joked perhaps one of them would gift the chocolate side of the confectionary and the other would gift the sweet side before then deciding that was a brilliant idea. The lady behind the counter had looked slightly overwhelmed by the multitude of items that the two of them placed in front of her so it had taken a while before everything was accounted for and they could pay.

Then, Lily and Marlene braced themselves for the cold outside and, with their scarves tightened, trudged a little way along the street to Zonko's joke shop. Inside they perused the shelves for a while, Lily frowning at everything and basing any of her knowledge on their ingredients lists as she knew ingredient properties but nothing about pranking products. Marlene fared much better and laughed slightly when she saw Lily muttering to herself about the various characteristics of moonstone.

'I think you're overthinking this.' Marlene said, linking arms with her and pulling her towards a display of multicoloured boxes. 'Pranking's meant to be fun not ten fucking hours of analysing ingredients – just get a variety box.'

'Can I help you, ladies?' A male in the Zonko's uniform smirked at them. Marlene stiffened considerably and Lily looked at the floor. 'Looking for your boyfriends, are you?'

'Are you saying girls can't prank?' Marlene hissed, her eyes narrowed.

'Makeup and blusher don't exactly equal a good prank.' he countered with a smirk and it was clear he didn't know Marlene for if he had, he would have noticed the warning sign of her growl and backed down from the argument. Or he was just stupid enough to ignore the red flag waving in his face.

'Blusher is makeup, you dumb fuck!' Marlene snapped, and Lily decided she would choose her purchases quickly and then take Marlene's as well so that if she was thrown out for arguing with an employee, she would still have everything she needed.

'Still not a decent prank.' the sales assistant said smugly as Lily took two variety boxes from the shelf behind him.

'How would you know? Tried some makeup recently?' Marlene replied coolly. Lily took Marlene's picks as well and headed towards the till. There was a small queue and she waited patiently, praying that a full-blown fight was not ensuing behind her; currently, the sound of two people punching one another was absent from the shop but Lily still looked apprehensive. In front of her, Emmeline and Mary were laughing together about something or other and Lily entertained herself while she waited by reading the description of one of the variety boxes. It wasn't particularly interesting and she was glad when it was her turn to pay. The cashier, who was female, grinned at her, chatting happily.

'Got some pranking planned?' she asked with a stage whisper as she took some of Marlene's items, including a rather vividly packaged box of itching powder claming to be enchanted to last 12 hours, into account. The cashier had electric blue hair and several piercings up her ear.

'Um… Yes.' Lily nodded though she wasn't sure if Marlene did indeed intend to prank someone with her purchases. The cashier winked conspiratorially as Lily handed over the correct number of coins. 'I like your hair by the way.' she complimented.

'Thanks.' The cashier handed her a bag filled with her acquisitions. 'Have a good day!'

'You too.' Lily smiled and hurried back to where Marlene still was with the sales assistant.

'I think it is an undeniable fact that males are just better at this kind of thing than females.' Without warning, Lily produced her wand and flicked it expertly so that a second later his face was covered in a vile array of makeup; she had given him bright pink and green eyeshadow and neon lipstick with thick false eyelashes.

'I think makeup works just fine.' she said and then dragged Marlene, who was howling with laughter, out of the shop. As they left, the sales assistant ran after them, shaking his fist in rage. Marlene cheerfully gestured behind her to show him exactly what she thought and then the two girls walked along the street with one smiling slightly and the other letting out loud cackles.

They went into Gladrags and headed over to the sock selection. It was lucky there was a large group of giggling girls admiring a selection of dress robes for the racket Marlene was making as she snorted, laughed and took loud gasps of air would otherwise have disrupted the entire shop. Lily, meanwhile, examined a set of self-fixing socks, patterned with different desserts, and considered whether anyone she knew had a particularly pressing problem with holes in their socks. Her cousin Henry instantly came to mind and Lily decided that as long as she removed the label deeming the socks self-fixing he would never suspect the socks of being enchanted – not that he believed in magic anyway. Then Marlene waved a pair of socks in her face that screamed when they were to smelly.

'Who the fuck would buy these?' she asked, having calmed down slightly. 'I mean, just imagine you're walking with someone, suddenly there's a fucking scream and then they're like "sorry that's just my socks telling me they smell like shit." How fucking weirded out would you be?'

'I'm sure they're useful for people who can't smell…or if you have foot hygiene problems…' Lily answered thoughtfully and Marlene shook her head disbelievingly.

'You're too bloody nice, Lil.' she declared despairingly, throwing the socks back to where she'd found them. 'You just hexed a bloke to wear the worst makeup I've ever seen – embrace it!'

'I shouldn't have done that…' Lily mumbled, looking away.

'You didn't used to care about that kind of thing.' Marlene replied bracingly, nudging her.

'That – that was before-' she stopped herself abruptly and Marlene's face showed obvious regret.

'Sorry, Lil…' Marlene said quietly. 'I didn't think… It was stupid of me to say that…'

'It's okay… I'm sorry I-… Nevermind.'

 _It was early morning and the first school day of 6_ _th_ _year was only hours away. Lily hopped out of bed and made her way cheerfully into the bathroom. It didn't take her long to get ready and once she was, she drew back the curtains of Marlene's four-poster and nudged her awake. Marlene, who had been murmuring into her pillow about the perfect angle at which to hit a Bludger, jerked into instant wakefulness. The first thing she did was let out a loud battle cry and then she leapt up with her fists curled; then she realised it was Lily who woke her and then lowered her fists looking sheepish._

' _Morning!' Lily said brightly. There were several tired groans from around the dormitory as anyone who had still been asleep was woken by Marlene shouting._

' _Fuck me, I hate mornings!' Marlene grumbled and grabbed her washbag from on top of her bedside table._

' _Mornings bring the rest of the day.' Lily said evenly. 'You can't have evening without morning.'_

' _Tell that to my fucking sleep cycle.' Marlene announced as she entered the bathroom and slammed the door behind her. Lily smiled after her and rearranged the quills in her schoolbag so that they were located in the front pocket in height order._

' _Oh, it's you, Lily.' Alice Prewett said with a loud yawn as she pulled back her hangings. 'I thought you were Mary… I swear you hate mornings anyway…'_

' _Of course not!' Lily said cheerfully. 'I wouldn't want to waste the day.'_

' _Okay…' Alice eyed her with sudden interest. 'Are you feeling alright, Lily?'_

' _Lay off her, Alice.' Emmeline Vance surfaced from behind her curtains. 'Find someone else to use as gossip.'_

' _I was just concerned.' Alice defended running a hand through her golden locks and Emmeline snorted._

' _Course you fucking were.' Marlene scoffed as she re-entered the dormitory. Alice let out a loud huff and made her way indignantly into the bathroom. Marlene and Emmeline exchanged a look of mutual understanding which went unnoticed by Lily, who was now sorting her parchment into different shades of beige._

' _The sky looks really stunning this morning.' Lily told the two girls conversationally and smiled to herself as she stacked the now colour ordered parchment._

' _I'm sorry about your grandad…' Emmeline whispered and the smile instantly slid off Lily's face. She froze where she was, looking down at her hands. Marlene shot Emmeline a furious glare and the receiver shrugged guiltily. 'Remus told me w-when we saw each other over the summer.'_

' _You saw Remus over the summer?' Lily asked, the smile returning so fully to her face it was slightly alarming. 'He never mentioned that.'_

 _There was a pregnant pause, though it didn't seem to perturb Lily, who began to hum the tune of_ Someone Saved My Life Tonight _by Elton John._

' _I'm fucking mentioning that when I see him.' Marlene cackled gleefully and Emmeline turned bright pink. 'Hehehe.'_

 _At breakfast, Marlene spent her time complaining about Sirius, who was sitting further up the table flirting with a blonde 5_ _th_ _year, and Lily listened to her patiently, making sure to nod at all the right moments. She ate her shredded wheat with gusto as her best friend continued to badmouth her fellow Gryffindor and almost didn't notice her boyfriend sit down beside her. Edward made eye contact with a specific 6_ _th_ _year and smirked smugly before placing an arm around Lily and kissing her on the cheek._

' _Sleep well?' Lily asked him as he pulled a tray of sausages toward him._

' _Not really. Potter and Longbottom were playing chess until 3 in the morning.' Edward placed a few sausages on his plate and eyed them as though they had all done him a great personal wrong. 'They are both appalling so it took hours.'_

' _I'm sure they were trying their best.' Lily reasoned kindly._

' _Petal,' Marlene raised an eyebrow at Edward's nickname but said nothing. 'Just because they were "trying their best" does not excuse the fact that they prevented me falling asleep!'_

' _Sorry, Ed…' Lily mumbled, looking down at her bowl of cereal._

' _Don't worry, mate.' Marlene addressed Edward sourly. 'I don't think beauty sleep can fix your face.'_

' _How dare you speak to me li-'_

' _EDDIE!' squealed a voice from a little way along the table. A few seconds later and James had bounded towards them. 'We have so much to talk about! 6 weeks is a long time!' He plonked himself down beside Edward and pinched his cheek, beaming._

' _Piss off!' Edward snarled, attempting to elbow James in the stomach._

' _Now, now, Ladies,' Sirius had joined the scene. 'Play nicely.' He ruffled Edward's hair. There was a loud giggle and both Lily and Marlene glanced up to see the blonde Sirius had been flirting with hanging off his arm. The two best friends caught each other's eyes and Marlene began to laugh loudly. Lily smiled vaguely at the couple and James before returning her attention to her breakfast._

 _Edward looked furious and stood up in rage. He shoved Sirius back but before he could speak, Professor McGonagall, who had been handing out timetables, strode towards the scene with her eyes flashing._

' _What exactly do you think you're doing, Mr McClaggen?' she asked menacingly and Edward looked at her with a scowl. James and Sirius snickered in the background. Marlene had stopped laughing and shot a contemptuous look at Sirius, his blonde companion and James before smiling sweetly at Professor McGonagall._

' _Professor, Edward was just eating his breakfast with Lily and I. Potter and Black came to harass him and Edward was simply putting his foot down.' She fixed Professor McGonagall with what she clearly felt was her most innocent expression. The Professor eyed her suspiciously._

' _Miss Evans, can you verify this story?'_

 _Lily, who had been contentedly eating her breakfast and hadn't even realised Edward was no longer sitting beside her, started and looked at Professor McGonagall with an absent smile._

' _I…um…' Professor McGonagall noticed her eyes dart to Marlene. 'Yes, I was eating breakfast with Marlene and Edward.' She nodded firmly._

' _Is that all?' Lily's eyes grew slightly panicked and she glanced again at Marlene._

' _I… I-I…'_

' _Yes, of course, we should arrange your timetable, Miss Evans.' Professor McGonagall said loudly and although Edward, James, Sirius and his blonde friend all appeared confused, Marlene sent a grateful look towards her Professor and Lily bowed her head. 'You can all wait your turn. Miss Graham, I'm quite certain I have already given you your timetable.' With a huff, the blonde female walked away, flicking her hair. 'There's no need for you all to hover here like a bunch of levitating teacups!' she snapped crisply. 'Away with you!'_

 _Marlene and Lily eventually arranged their timetables and finished eating their breakfast. They returned briefly to their dormitory to collect their necessary books and Lily smiled cheerfully at Alice, who was now chatting with Dorcas Meadows, as she made her way out. Marlene lagged slightly behind and lingered long enough to hear Alice whisper to Dorcas._

' _See what I mean? Lily's gone mad!' The two giggled hysterically but ceased instantly as they noticed Marlene's curvaceous form towering in front of them. Her fists were curled threateningly and her eyes were mere slits as she observed the two girls before her._

' _You may think you've seen me at my worst but you'd better fucking watch it because if I_ ever _hear you talking shit about my best mate again I will make you regret every – single – day of your fucking pathetic lives.' Marlene's voice was low and with every syllable the anger in her tone was enough to freeze the bone marrow. Alice let out a small whimper and Marlene grabbed her by the scruff of her neck. 'Is that understood?'_

' _Y-yes.' both Dorcas and Alice stammered. Marlene showed them a twisted smile and thrust Alice roughly back._

' _Oh, good.' she said with sugary tones. 'Because it would be_ awful _if we roommates had a falling out, wouldn't it?'_

' _Marls?' Lily's face appeared in the doorway. 'Are you coming?'_

' _Yup.' Marlene waved merrily at the two petrified females before linking arms with Lily and they made their way down the girls' staircase._

 _In truth, Marlene spent a lot of her time outside of lessons that day threatening people. There was a noticeable difference in Lily Evans' behaviour and that change would have been the talk of the school had it not been for both Marlene and Remus' relentless efforts to contain the rumour mill. With Marlene bullying the correct people into keeping their mouths shut and Remus blackmailing others to spread other news around the school to distract the student body from Lily, there was a relieving lapse of attention directed Lily's way._

 _But they were right, Marlene supposed as she watched her best friend hum to herself while they walked to dinner, to some extent that this Lily was not the same Lily that had walked the school corridors just six weeks prior. The best friend Marlene had met on the Hogwarts Express was a long way away from the absently smiling girl who now moved beside her. There had been a time when Lily had been the funny, lively girl who always voiced her opinion and was never afraid to offend someone if it meant they would be put in their place; now, however, was a whole new person who worried about offending others and was kind to practically everyone even if they treated her like dirt. It was almost as though her best friend had been switched._

 _Lily's grandfather had died at exactly 9.45 pm on the 21_ _st_ _of July 1976 and ever since his death it was as though Lily had cracked. Marlene had been practicing aiming Bludgers when she had paused for a moment to look at the red leather book she had which had a matching counterpart in the possession of her best friend. She had opened it to see a brief sentence._

 _ **Lily: He's dead.**_

 _Upon seeing those words, Marlene had run inside her house and announced she would be visiting Lily for a few days. Packing didn't take long and Marlene then braved the Muggle train to Cokeworth, the town Lily lived in. She arrived outside the Evans' home and pressed the doorbell impatiently. It was opened by a red-eyed Mr Evans, who stared at her for a second._

' _I'm here to see Lily.' she had told him and then, without waiting for an invitation, she pushed past him and rushed up to Lily's room. Marlene had opened the door slowly and entered, shutting the bedroom door behind her, and moved cautiously over to the red head, who was sat, slumped against her bedroom wall, a wisteria blossom in her hands. 'Lil?' Marlene had asked timidly. Her best friend made no response and stared blankly into the space before her._

 _Marlene had sat down beside her and squeezed her hand._

' _People are like plants…' Lily had whispered, turning the blossom in her hand. 'Be kind and care for them and they will grow healthy and strong. Ignore and abuse them and they will wilt.'_

 _And those were the only words Lily ever spoke during Marlene's visit. When Remus came a few days later she managed to greet him but said nothing else. Only when she bumped into Edward in Diagon Alley did Lily say anything more. She spilled all her sorrows to him and as soon as she had, she began to brighten considerably. But the Lily she became was not the Lily she had been. However, Edward had helped her best friend smile again and for that Marlene supported their relationship even if it pained her to see Lily treated the way he treated her._

 _After dinner, Lily and Marlene made their way back in the direction of Gryffindor Tower with Marlene complaining about Professor Quinn, her divination teacher, all the way there. But as they entered the common room, their conversation was interrupted by a smirking, bespectacled male._

' _Hey, Evans!' James called over at them and swaggered towards them._

' _10 galleons Evans'll hex him.' someone nearby whispered to their friend and unfortunately for that Gryffindor, Marlene heard their comment and elbowed them in the face._

' _Good summer?' he asked, running a hand through his hair._

 _Lily simply stared at him, her eyes wide, as though she had never seen him before. Then, all of a sudden, she smiled. It was a small, vacant smile and James realised she was not in fact regarding him rather she was looking dreamily over his shoulder at something non-distinct. Marlene spat at his feet before gently leading Lily up the girls' staircase, with a final glare in James' direction, leaving him to frown at the space Lily had previously occupied._

By 2 pm both Marlene and Lily felt like collapsing from all their shopping so they made their way towards the Three Broomsticks and ordered some butterbeer. Taking the tankards to a small table near a fogged-up window, they seated themselves and watched the other tables. While they watched, a male with heavy makeup stormed in and ordered a firewhisky. Marlene dissolved into tears of laughter and ducked under the table cackling madly.

 **Please Review :)**

 **What did you think of the Marauders' prank? And what about the scene in Zonko's?**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: I haven't really got anything to say so... thank you to everyone who's reviewed, followed and favourited (is that even a word?)!**

* * *

 **Chapter 22: The Christmas Party**

* * *

Breakfast on the 12th of December was a very eventful affair. For one thing, Marlene accidently spilled a milk jug when reaching over for some of the hash browns on Lily's plate meaning the white liquid spread across a wide area of the Gryffindor table, dripping on many unsuspecting student's legs. For another, Frank Longbottom had asked Alice Prewett out on a date and her squeals could be heard throughout the Great Hall. But the most exciting occurrence was when Professor Slughorn had arrived at the Gryffindor table and handed out a large set of his infamous scrolls. Both Lily and Marlene received them and opened them to see they were invited to his Christmas party; Marlene instantly informed the old Professor that they would indeed be attending and he beamed at the pair of them before moving further along the table. As soon as he left, Marlene was approached by Sirius, who, with his own scroll in hand, asked her to accompany him to the party. She let out a sound that resembled a squawk and managed to send all the food in the vicinity flying before stuttering her response. Sirius walked off in the direction of their Potions lesson with a distinct buoyancy added to his usual swagger and Lily smiled to herself as she watched him strut away from them to where James loitered.

James thumped Sirius on the back and then glanced towards where Lily had started helping Marlene clear up the mess she'd made. The Head boy and girl locked eyes for the briefest of moments but it was enough for the colour to rise in Lily's cheeks and James smirked, winking at her; this did little to help the blush creeping up her face and she turned determinately back to helping Marlene.

Once the mess was disposed of, the two girls also made their way towards the dungeons in high spirits, though Lily wasn't exactly sure why she was in such a good mood. She was of course glad Sirius and Marlene would be going to the party together but she hadn't expected to feel quite so elated by the fact. They reached the dungeon just as the bell, signalling the start of lessons, rang and Professor Slughorn hurried towards the class, ushering them inside. Everyone took their usual seats and watched their teacher expectantly as he waddled to the front of the room.

'Now, I though today we might have some fun – it is our last lesson of term after all.' His eyes twinkled merrily. 'And so, I have a proposition that in today's class you are all with a chance to win this fine selection of Honeyduke's chocolate.' From out of nowhere, Professor Slughorn produced a large crate filled with delicious looking chocolate confectionary; almost all of his students let out small moans of longing. 'But to win you must brew me a perfect potion of your choosing. The best potioneer in this room will walk away with this prize of delights… You have the rest of this lesson. Begin!'

A buzz of excited chatter quickly broke out and Lily slowly unpacked her things, making sure to lay out her ingredients and equipment in neat rows. Then she began to flick through her heavily annotated textbook for a recipe she had yet to make adjustments to; her eyes fell on a page displaying the instructions for an elation and levitation elixir. According to the description, drinkers of the potion would experience a feeling of sudden ecstasy before beginning to float.

Most of the class were already several ingredients along in their potion making but despite this, Lily took her time measuring out exact quantities and tiding away everything she didn't need. She hastily tied up her deep red hair and returned her attention to her set of brass scales. After weighing her ingredients, Lily lit a fire beneath her cauldron and added her first annotation by switching the order in which the instructions stated the dried Billywig stings, shredded daisy roots and the sap of Flutterby bush should be added in.

As the lesson continued, around her everyone grew more and more frantic to finish but Lily simply hummed to herself as she added Moondew. Somehow, across the classroom, James' potion caught fire which was incidentally quite ironic considering he was making a fireproofing potion. While the rest of the class was thrown into chaos by the flaming potion, Lily calmly continued to work on her potion. Edward smirked to himself but then realised his robes were on fire and he began to let out loud screams.

Professor Slughorn was nowhere to be seen and Edward started to run around the dungeon, trying to put his robes out. Meanwhile, James' potion had taken to letting out bright orange sparks as well as letting out a lurid smelling smoke which drifted through the entire classroom and had everyone gagging as well as struggling to see.

But then the mayhem ended as Lily sent a jet of water at Edward's robes, extinguishing the flames, and them added a small sprig of mint to James' cauldron, making his potion cease flaming and become a milky white liquid completely devoid of smoke and sparks. Everyone gawped at her as she then returned to her own work space and continued stirring her concoction as though nothing had happened. Professor Slughorn returned to the dungeon with another crate of chocolate, though it was smaller than the first, and deposited it on his desk at the front.

'Another 15 minutes.' he said, clearly oblivious to the previous events, and began to patrol around the class. The rush to finish increased tenfold and people darted about left, right and centre attempting to get and add last minute ingredients. Marlene swore loudly at her potion, which had turned a murky blue instead of the dark purple it was meant to be, and stirred it moodily.

'Maybe add some more dragon's blood.' Lily suggested, not looking up from her own cauldron as she scribbled something down in her textbook. Her best friend grunted her thanks and then added the proposed quantity addition; the moment the first drop of dragon's blood was introduced to the surface of the potion, it began to turn purple and soon Marlene's mixture was a vivid indigo.

'Hey, Lily!' James shouted across the classroom, causing him to receive a disapproving look from Professor Slughorn. Lily turned to face him with a small frown in place. 'Walk with me to Arithmancy?'

'Sure…' Lily smiled uncertainly at him before returning her attention to her potion. Professor Slughorn looked knowingly between the two and evidently decided against scolding James for calling across the dungeon. James held out his hand to high five Sirius but his fellow Marauder stuck his middle finger up at him in response before thumping him on the back.

'Is there something you want to tell me, Lil?' Marlene asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

'No?' she responded, confusion evident in her face.

'Oh, come on, Lil!' Marlene let out a cry of frustration as Lily stirred her potion. 'He asked you to walk to fucking Arithmancy with him! You always walk together!'

'I suppose he was just making sure…' Lily reasoned, though she wasn't really paying attention to the conversation. A mischievous grin appeared on Marlene's face as she observed her best friend.

'You sit next to him in Arithmancy, right?' she checked.

'Yeah…' Lily replied but her mind was entirely focused on adding a last ingredient to her elation and levitation elixir. There was a pause while Marlene considered her.

'Lil…'

'Hm?'

'You don't _like_ Potter, do you?' Marlene inquired slyly and her evil smile widened as she saw Lily determinately stir her cauldron, avoiding her gaze.

'Time's up!' Professor Slughorn declared; everyone stopped working at once and waited in eager silence as he began to inspect each potion in turn. With some cauldrons, as he neared them, Professor Slughorn would sniff the fumes they expelled and with others he would stir them once or twice before moving on to the next one. But at two cauldrons his eyes lit up with boyish excitement, in particular at the second of the two. The first belonged to Severus Snape, who had made _An Elixir to Induce Euphoria_ , and the second was Lily, who, although her potion was of similar function, had managed to achieve, in the words of Professor Slughorn, absolute perfection with her brewing capabilities. The larger of the two chocolate filled crates was handed to Lily, who blushed with embarrassment, and the other smaller one was received by Severus, who took it with complete indifference.

Somewhere outside the dungeon, the bell rang and there was a sudden scramble to pack up. Marlene vanished the contents of both her and Lily's cauldrons before nudging her best friend towards the Head boy. Lily stumbled slightly but managed to save her crate of chocolate from spilling onto the floor.

'Congrats, Lily.' James said as they began to make their way towards their Arithmancy classroom. As Marlene walked past them, she winked in Lily's direction before hurrying in the direction of North Tower.

'Thanks.' she mumbled in response.

'D'you want to go to Slughorn's party with me?' James asked, running a hand through his hair and searching her face with his hazel eyes. Lily adjusted her hold on her crate and smiled up at him.

'I'd love to, James.' Lily replied. He grinned back at her and there seemed to be an extra spring in his normal strut as they continued on their way. Lily began to hum to herself and James watched her with his insides turning warm and content. It was almost as though he'd drunk all of Lily's elation and levitation elixir as James would not have been surprised at that moment had he begun to float towards the ceiling. His expression became slightly dazed as his body filled with a specific Lily induced ecstasy. 'D'you want some chocolate?'

* * *

The day of Professor Slughorn's Christmas party arrived and Lily spent a great deal of her morning working on her and Marlene's Agony Aunt column whilst her best friend attempted to offer helpful solutions; however, this did not necessarily prove useful as Marlene's mind was slightly preoccupied. Despite the fact that she and Sirius were attending the party together, she had been avoiding him at all costs ever since he'd asked her to go with him, meaning that on the 15th of December she was incredibly nervous that he now hated her. Lily had taken matters into her own hands, something that perhaps brought on by the fact Marlene had taken to singing about his supposed hatred of her at around 12 pm, and persuaded Sirius to write his date a note dispelling such a notion. He had been more than a little confused at Lily's request but obliged nonetheless, putting it into words as only Sirius Black could.

 _McKinnon,_

 _Quit thinking I hate you._

 _Sirius (the sexiest man alive)_

Surprisingly, Marlene had not looked too impressed at his note but it had done the job and Lily was therefore spared from the endless album of songs about Sirius' hatred, sung by her beloved best friend, which would have of course rivalled the quality of Elton John's own work.

At around 5 pm, Lily was dragged away from Remus, with whom she'd been discussing the likelihood of Voldemort actually having the ability to lay eggs as suggested in an article in that morning's Daily Prophet, by Marlene, who was filled with adrenalin, and she reluctantly left him to go prepare for the party. Marlene had a steely glint in her eyes that clearly said Lily would do better to follow her suggestions than protest so she seated herself on her bed and waited while Marlene rummaged through the back of her wardrobe.

First, she pulled out her own scandalously red, not to mention slim fitting, dress and instructed Lily to hold it while she continued her search. And then, Marlene produced a large black box with the words _Madame Malkin's_ printed in gold font on the lid. She took her dress from Lily and pushed the box into her hands. Lily looked down at the box utterly nonplussed.

'Consider it an early Christmas present.' Marlene told her and she cautiously removed the lid. As Lily peeled back the black tissue, her eyes caught sight of emerald fabric. Pulling out the box's contents, she found herself holding the emerald dress she'd tried on in the summer holidays before deciding that Edward would deem it too revealing. A small gasp escaped Lily's lips and Marlene grinned at her.

'Thanks, Marls.' Lily got up and hugged her tightly. They broke apart and began to change into their respective dresses.

'I ate 15 pumpkin pasties in 10 minutes today.' Marlene said proudly as she wiggled her dress over her hips.

'Impressive.' Lily nodded, moving towards the mirror to stare at herself. It was extremely form fitting with a slit up one side and lace across the top; Lily just gazed at her reflection with a strange expression in her eyes.

'Lil?' asked Marlene tentatively, moving towards her. Lily did not respond, she just continued to watch her mirror image with the same foreign emotion in her eyes. Her hand reached up and touched the spot on the back of her head where she'd been punched during the Gryffindor victory party.

'Edward always made me ashamed of myself.' she whispered. 'But today – today I don't believe him.' And then she smiled. Her smile was wide and cheerful but her eyes glistened with sudden tears. 'I used t-to think he was right…'

'I'm so so sorry, Lil.' Marlene's eyes too appeared watery. 'I should have stopped you dating that fucking wanker.'

'I don't blame you.' Lily responded, tears starting to trickle down her cheeks. They hugged each other, both crying silently, though Marlene let out the occasional howl. 'Through thick and thin.'

'Through t-thick and thin.' she choked out and they clung tighter to one another. The two best friends remained that way for a long time, an unspoken banquet of words passing between them as they cried.

'It's a good thing we haven't done our make up yet.' Lily said, with a small laugh.

'Fuck you, Lil!' Marlene pushed her away whilst pretending to look sour. 'I'm trying to be emotional here!'

'We've got a party to go to!' Lily nudged her, wiping away her own tears hastily. 'You're going with Sirius!' Marlene's lips twitched upwards.

'And you're going with Potter.' Suddenly, her eyes widened comically. 'What time is it?'

'Probably around 6.'

'FUCK!' Marlene practically sprinted over to her makeup collection. 'We've got to get ready!' Lily grinned at her best friend's antics but began to apply her own cosmetics. She opted for black cat eye eyeliner and dark red lipstick, which she cast a charm over so that it wouldn't smudge if she ate something. They eventually finished and then completed their hair so that at exactly 7.03 pm they were ready to go downstairs.

Together they made their way down the girls' staircase and entered the common room. Marlene had faltered a little on the last step so Lily had revealed herself first hoping to give her best friend time to gather herself and when she appeared in the Gryffindor common room, she was greeted by a loud wolf whistle from Sirius, who was immediately elbowed in the stomach by James.

'Lily, you look beautiful.' James said smoothly, his voice was slightly husky as he spoke causing Lily's cheeks to heat up, and, as the gentleman he was, kissed her hand lightly. He winked at Sirius before leading Lily out of the common room and in the direction of Professor Slughorn's office. On their way out, Lily smiled knowingly at Remus, who sat with Emmeline Vance chatting, to which he responded by sticking out his tongue and she waved merrily before climbing through the portrait hole, and accepting the hand James offered her as she did so.

'Where's Peter?' she asked as they began to walk.

'He's on a date with Flora Jenkins.' James replied with a grin.

'Did he sneak out to Hogsmeade with her?'

'Yup.' He looked down at her, his grin slowly becoming a frown. 'Lily?'

'Hm?'

'How do you know about the Marauder's Map?' His question seemed to surprise her but when she turned her head to face him, he saw her eyes were sparkling mischievously.

'That's a trade secret I'm afraid.' she answered and her mouth formed a very rare smirk. James found himself captivated by her expression and it took a lot of self restraint for him to stop himself caring out an action he'd already wished for several times that school year.

'D'you think you'll ever share your "trade secret"?'

'We'll see.' And her smirk remained in place, inadvertently causing an internal wrestle inside James' mind. Her smirk was intoxicating for him as though she had drugged him with her mischievous attitude. They reached the door of Professor Slughorn's office and Lily drew to a halt as James reached out for the handle. 'You've tamed your hair again.'

'Well, I've got to put some effort into my appearance. Putting on dress robes isn't that hard but you ladies slave away with makeup and hair as well – I think taming this is my equivalent.' James removed his hand from the door knob and turned to face her.

'I'm glad you have such an appreciation for the toils of getting ready.' Lily laughed lightly, now smiling softly.

'So, what d'you think?'

'Of what?'

'Of my hair...'

'Oh,' Lily fiddled nervously with a strand of her deep red tendrils. 'You look very handsome…'

'Handsome?' James wiggled his eyebrows but Lily avoided his gaze, her face seeming uncomfortable.

'Y-yes… Handsome… It's just not…you…' She searched his face anxiously to see if she'd offended him. 'Sorry, that was extremely rude of me…'

'What d'you mean by it's not me?'

'I-well, your messy hair is part of you and when you have it all neat it's just a little strange.' Lily reached out a hand and squeezed his large hand in her own small one. 'Don't worry, you do still look very handsome.'

'Thanks.' James brought her hand up to his hair and guided through his flattened mane so it ceased being so, returning to its usual wild personality. Lily blushed deeply as James made her hand ruffle his hair and her heart rate began to increase rapidly.

'W-we should go inside.' she mumbled as he let go of her hand and she hastily stepped back. James chuckled slightly and pushed open the door into Professor Slughorn's highly decorated office. There was a large Christmas tree in the far corner which was decked out in delicate glass decorations and gold glowing fairy lights lined the ceiling, casting a comforting light over the guests. As the two Heads entered the room, Professor Slughorn came wobbling up to them, a glass of sherry already clutched in one of his plump hands.

'Lily, Mr Potter, I'm so glad you could come!' He beamed at the pair of them. 'Lily, I have an old student of mine, Damocles Belby, here tonight and he's most interested in meeting you. I've told him how accomplished a potioneer you are.' Professor Slughorn held onto her arm with a vice like grip and steered her towards a young man standing near a pot plant draped in red ribbons; Lily took hold of James' hand and pulled him along with her, looking apologetically in his direction. James, however, seemed to be on the verge of laughing and had no qualms with being brought to see Damocles Belby as well. 'Damocles, m'boy,' Professor Slughorn boomed, 'this here is Lily Evans, who I was telling you about.'

'A pleasure, Miss Evans.' Damocles lifted Lily's free hand to his lips and kissed it.

'Mr Potter, I thought you might like to meet Stubby Boardman.' Professor Slughorn dragged a reluctant James off into the crowd of guests, leaving Lily alone with Damocles.

'It's nice to meet you too.' She smiled politely at her companion and attempted not to feel awkward, for her was still holding her hand.

'Horace tells me you're an excellent potioneer.' Damocles obviously did not sense her discomfort. 'Potions was always my best subject.' Then he laughed and Lily chuckled faintly, feeling as though she was expected to find his comment amusing. 'That much is obvious I suppose – I do work in the Ministry's Potion Experimentation Department after all.'

'Is that a particularly demanding career?' Lily inquired, feigning interest.

'Oh, yes. We work on 3-year contracts and each one of those contracts is focused on a potion that we have to alter or create; we work as a unit though, I must admit, I am the only competent member.' Damocles reminded Lily distinctly of Edward and as that notion occurred to her, her discomfort level increased alarmingly.

'I'm sure.'

'Should you be interested in pursuing a career in my department, I will quite happily find you a position, Miss Evans.' he offered pompously. 'I also have connections in the St Mungo's research facility and their Healer training programme.'

'You're too kind…'

'Nonsense!' Damocles' eyes looked her up and down before he gave her a roguish wink. 'Come, Miss Evans, the music tonight is of a far too high calibre to not dance. We must take to the floor!' And before Lily could protest, he had led her towards a small area in front of a live orchestra where a few couples already waltzed with one another. He brought Lily close to him and they began to sway around the floor; she was incredibly uncomfortable with being in such close proximity to Damocles but could see no way out of dancing with him without being impolite. Luckily, he didn't attempt to engage in more conversation and Lily was free to scan the room for any sign of James or Marlene or Sirius. However, his silence was due to the fact he had been distracted by the fact he could look down and have an excellent view of Lily's cleavage which admittedly did nothing but worsen how uncomfortable his partner was.

Lily spotted James laughing with someone, who looked remarkably like an older version of Sirius, and guessed that his company might be Stubby Boardman. Her eyes found Marlene and Sirius talking to Professor McGonagall, who was dressed in a dark green tartan set of dress robes, but was forced to return her attention to Damocles when the particular piece of music they had been dancing to ended. He stopped to abruptly that they lost their balance and fell, Lily backwards and with him on top. Lazily, he pushed himself back to his feet and offered his hand to Lily, which she reluctantly accepted.

'Thank you.' Lily mumbled and made to step slightly back as the orchestra struck up a rendition of _'God Rest Ye, Merry Hippogriffs'_ but Damocles held her where she was and looked upwards, smirking widely.

'A kiss in the name of Christmas Spirit?' Lily too looked up to see a bunch of mistletoe hanging from the ceiling with a piece of merrily sparkling tinsel attached to it. An unpleasant churning sensation in her stomach sprung into action making her regret any food she'd ever eaten.

'I…'

'Then perhaps a kiss to secure your future career?' His eyes seemed to flash dangerously and Lily took a deep breath, bracing herself, as he began to move his head towards hers.

'Lily?' a voice sounded behind them and Lily took the opportunity to break free of Damocles' grasp. She turned to see Sirius holding three drinks, evidently for himself, Marlene and Professor McGonagall.

'Sirius!' Relief filled her features and she walked gratefully over to him leaving Damocles, who was cursing loudly, behind on the dance floor. 'Thank you!' she gushed.

'For what?' Sirius apparently had not noticed the mistletoe above Damocles.

'Oh… Nevermind.' She smiled at him.

'I thought you were here with Jamsie.'

'Professor Slughorn introduced him to Stubby Boardman an-'

'He's talking to Stubby Boardman!' Sirius exclaimed excitedly and thrust two of the drinks he'd been carrying into Lily's hands before hurrying off in search of James. She shook her head in amusement and made her way towards Professor McGonagall and Marlene.

'Hello.' Lily greeted, holding out the two drinks, one of which was a Gillywater and the other a brightly coloured cocktail. 'I think these are for you both but I'm not sure – Sirius just gave them to me…'

'Of course.' Professor McGonagall took the Gillywater and Marlene the cocktail. 'Horace hinted the legendary Stubby Boardman would indeed be in attendance this evening. I believe Mr Black is quite the admirer of his work.'

'Stubby Boardman?' Marlene directed her question at Lily. 'He's here?'

'Yes, I saw him talking to James.'

'Would you excuse me, Professor?' Marlene asked politely though her eyes were pleading.

'You are excused.' Professor McGonagall took a sip of her Gillywater as Marlene scurried off. 'And you, Miss Evans? Do you intend to chase after a celebrity?'

'No, Professor.' Lily smiled at her. 'I'll enjoy your company instead.'

'That is most kind of you. But are you quite certain? He is quite the popular musician amongst young people I am to understand.' Professor McGonagall regarded her with slight amusement.

'I've hardly heard any of his music… We wouldn't have much to say to each other.' Lily replied with a small shrug and Professor McGonagall chuckled lightly.

'You would be surprised how willing he would be to engage you in conversation.' she said wisely and took another sip of her drink.

'I'm not sure…' Lily mused uncertainly.

'I think there are many young men here tonight who are eager to be introduced to you.' Professor McGonagall informed her and observed the Head girl's face shrewdly. 'That was made quite clear when you entered here tonight.'

'They probably recognised James – I think his parents were well known…'

'Perhaps.' Professor McGonagall nodded. 'But that would not explain their disappointed expressions when you chose to converse with your teacher.' Lily still looked slightly confused but she smiled nonetheless. 'Mr Potter had better remember your existence soon or he shall find himself without a date.'

As if to further Professor McGonagall's point a blond-haired male coughed beside them.

'Excuse me, ladies, but I was wondering if you, Miss…' He looked pointedly at Lily.

'Evans.'

'Miss Evans, would care for a dance?' he finished and Professor McGonagall focused her attention on her drink with a small smile.

'That's very kind of you…'

'Caradoc Dearborn.' Lily nodded, glancing at Professor McGonagall, who inclined her head.

'Forgive me but I have just spotted Pomona and I wished to consult her about something.' And without another word, Professor McGonagall swept off to join Professor Sprout, leaving Lily to accompany Caradoc to the dance floor.

The orchestra had chosen a Scottish Country Dancing piece of music and the pair joined the set, curtsying or bowing as the opening chord was played. Then the music began to play. It was fast and cheerful with the dance including many intricate chains and formations but Lily was alive as she danced. Her deep red hair flew about and her face flushed as she happily chased around the male side of the set with the other female dancers; she was immensely grateful she had chosen black pumps for dancing in stilettos would not have been enjoyable.

But when the men mirrored the women's chase around the set, Caradoc pinched Lily's bottom as he danced behind her. Instantly, her enjoyment of the dance lowered considerably but she still continued dancing with just as much enthusiasm as before. Several of the guests who had simply been conversing turned to watch the dancing couples, many murmuring with one another about who the beautiful red-haired female might be.

Stubby Boardman, who had been discussing the best matches of Puddlemere United with James, Sirius and Marlene, glanced over his shoulder to see Lily dancing and chatting as she did so to a witch with mousy brown hair.

'Hey, Potter,' he said in his slightly gruff voice. 'Fancy trying to swap in?' James followed his line of sight and nodded as his eyes took in Lily's glowing face. So, the two males left Sirius and Marlene, tapping the shoulders of the partners of two specific females while the women's line began to chase once more around the set. Caradoc and the other male begrudging allowed them to take their places and Stubby winked at the mousy-haired female, who didn't seem too pleased to see him.

'What do you think you're doing?' she hissed at him and scowled as he simply laughed and began to dance.

'Doris, you know you love me.' Stubby replied but he was spared her scathing retort as the men's line took their turn to chase. However, when it was time to make arches for the ladies to duck under, he received a sharp kick in the leg. Lily caught James' eye and the two grinned at one another, their minds in definite agreement.

'Where'd you get your dress, Doris?' Lily asked, attempting to change topic. 'It looks so lovely on you.'

'It turned up in my mail.' she responded with a shy smile. James glanced at Stubby and saw his face had lit up like a child at Christmas.

'Oh, really?' The chord declaring the end of the dance sounded and they bowed or curtsied at their respective partners before applauding their fellow dancers. 'My best friend gave me mine.'

'Well, it looks gorgeous. Green is such a great colour on you.' Doris enthused and the two females began making their way off the dance floor, followed by Stubby and James. 'It matches your eyes so beautifully!'

'Lily, d'you want to dance with me?' James said, preventing Lily from replying to Doris' comment.

'Yes, of course.' Lily smiled at him and waved goodbye to Doris and Stubby, one of which looked delighted and the other resigned. She and James returned to the dance floor; James put one hand in hers and the other on Lily's waist while she put her remaining hand on his shoulder. Together they swayed peacefully to the much slower tune softly coming from the orchestra's instruments, the main feature being an ornate golden harp played by a witch dressed in a beautiful white dress. 'I think Professor McGonagall was wrong.'

'What d'you mean?' James looked down at her with a confused expression.

'She implied Stubby Boardman would take a fancy to me but I think Doris Purkiss has all his attention.' Lily smiled up at him and James felt his insides warm slightly. 'Whether she wants it or not is another matter.'

'How d'you know Doris?'

'Oh, she used to work in Flourish and Blotts for a while and we recognised each other whilst dancing.'

'Right…' James removed his hand from Lily's waist for a moment to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear; her cheeks tinged with pink but James didn't notice even though he began to gaze at her intently. His hand cupped her face and Lily watched him with wide eyes, as though she was determined to take in all his movements. 'Lily…' he whispered. They had stopped swaying and just remained stationary, staring at one another.

'James, I wanted to te-'

'Lily!' Professor Slughorn waddled over to them and the two sprung apart, turning to face their teacher. 'I'm glad I found you! An old friend and colleague of mine desperately wants to meet you…' And she obediently followed, with a slightly saddened glance in James' direction.

 **Please Review :)**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: Christmas is definitely one of my favourite times of year and I'm still hoping for some decent snow in the UK next time around.**

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 **Chapter 23: Christmas Eve**

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The Hogwarts Express trundled past the snow-covered countryside and battled its way through an icy wind that insisted on rattling the fogged-up compartment windows. Lily drew shapes in the condensation while Marlene read the Christmas edition of _Quidditch Cognizance_. She hummed to herself as she watched the patchwork fields and was glad she was inside the warm compartment rather than outside in the bone chilling cold. The train passed a field of particularly frozen looking sheep and Lily absentmindedly stroked Nigel, who was curled up in her lap.

There was a loud thud in the corridor outside the compartment causing Lily to start, dislodging Nigel, and turn to face the compartment door. She couldn't see anything but a second later a black-haired male stood up so that they come into view evidently having fallen over. Marlene let out a loud snort and then determinately read her magazine as the compartment door slid open.

'Hello, ladies.' Sirius smirked, apparently under the impression they had not seen him fall over. He glanced at Marlene, who had not looked up upon his entry, and Lily smiled to herself as his eyes began to resemble those of an upset puppy.

'No one's impressed by your fucking puppy eyes.' Marlene groaned from behind her copy of _Quidditch Cognizance_. 'Learn to walk properly and we'll consider it.'

'My love, you wound my heart!' he cried, clutching at his chest and falling dramatically to the floor.

'Good.' snapped Marlene, hitting him on the head with the corner of her magazine.

'FUCKING HELL!' Sirius yelled, clutching at his forehead and the two females exchanged a look before grinning at one another. Once Sirius had recovered, he fixed Marlene with a sickly-sweet smile and she raised an eyebrow at him. 'Will you kiss it better?'

'Oh, go cry to Potter about it!' Marlene responded, suddenly looking quite uncomfortable. Lily observed the two for a moment and then decided to speak.

'Marls, you don't have a heat pack, do you?' Lily questioned innocently and at once she saw gratitude in her best friend's eyes.

'Probably.' She shrugged and then fumbled around in her handbag.

'A heat pack?' Sirius said blankly.

'Yes.' Lily replied brightly. 'For my _cramps_.' The effect was instantaneous; Sirius eyes widened comically as he regarded her and he quickly got off the floor.

'Well, I should go back and make sure the others haven't killed themselves.' he announced awkwardly and began to leave the compartment. Lily waved merrily after him and Marlene ignored him as she continued to purposefully search her bag. But as soon as he was out of sight she ceased looking in her handbag and reached out a hand to high five Lily.

'That was fucking brilliant, Lil!' Lily did indeed high five Marlene but she looked a little guilty.

'I'm sure he only wanted to talk to you…' she said quietly.

'Yes… Well… I wanted to start the Christmas holidays in a good mood.' Marlene reasoned.

'Fair enough.'

They fell back into silence and didn't speak again until the train arrived at platform 9 and 3/4. Lily levitated her trunk down from the overhead racks and while Marlene echoed her actions, she attempted to coax Nigel into his cage. The ginger cat shot her a disgusted look and mewed indignantly when she picked him up and placed him gently inside the cage.

'Bad luck, Nig,' Marlene chuckled and reached out a hand to ruffle his fur before Lily shut the cage. The two best friends left the compartment and heaved their luggage off the train onto the platform. Their parents waited together and waved eagerly in their direction. Marlene and Lily rushed over, though Marlene eyed her parents a little warily, the subject of her future career making her apprehensive. But then her parents pulled her into their arms and her nerves ceased.

'Do we get a hug or what?' Mr Evans asked and Lily laughed before she hugged her own parents tightly. She had missed them, though until now she hadn't realised quite how much, and the three Evans' clung to one another for a long time until the sound of Marlene's younger brother Matthew arriving woke them up to their surroundings.

Then the best friends hugged one another and the two families went their separate ways after leaving the platform with wishes of good will. Outside the station, a fresh wave of snow had begun to fall from the sky and Lily held out a hand to catch one of the snowflakes, watching it melt in her hand. Mr Evans led the way to the car and he loaded Lily's trunk into the boot while she and Mrs Evans climbed into the car. However, someone called Lily's name as she entered the car and she stopped turning around to see if she had heard correct. There was a large group of slightly intoxicated young adults that stumbled passed and she couldn't see anyone who would have called her.

'LILY!' they shouted again and as the drunken group moved out of her line of sight she saw the Marauders standing on the pavement, their face pink from the cold, with James in the front, his hands cupped as he called her name. Mrs Evans nudged her forwards and she moved towards them as they grinned at her. 'We just wanted to wish you a happy Christmas.'

'Oh… Happy Christmas to you too.' Lily hugged each of them in turn. She reached James last and when the two of them broke apart, both of them seemed to have rosier cheeks than before. 'Well, have a good holiday, you four! I'll send you all invites for New Year's Eve with your presents.' And with that she waved in farewell and returned to her parent's car for the journey home.

* * *

The day of Christmas Eve arrived with another flurry of snow meaning that Lily and Mr Evans spent a great deal of their morning clearing the driveway of snow and ice whilst Mrs Evans brought out regular mugs of steaming hot chocolate in between her preparations for that night's meal. At around 11 am, the two shovelling individuals finished their task and headed inside, rosy faced, trampling in a large amount of white snow, which Lily hastily vanished with her wand so that her mother wouldn't be cross. Another mug of hot chocolate later, and then the three Evans' set about decorating the Christmas tree, a tradition they always saved for the 24th, and listened to Christmas songs as they did so.

 _Welcome to my Christmas song  
I'd like to thank you for the year_

Lily passed her father one end of the fairy lights and he edged cautiously around the Christmas tree to avoid the pine needles. He almost tripped over one of the presents beneath the tree and Mrs Evans laughed heartily from one of the big sofas where she was unpacking a set of delicate crystal deer decorations. Lily grinned at him and fed him some more of the fairy lights; she had offered to drape them with magic but both her parents had firmly stated that decorating the tree by hand was tradition and using magic would be cheating.

 _So I'm sending you this Christmas card  
To say it's nice to have you here_

With the fairy lights in place, Lily plugged them into the socket and flicked the switch so that tree began twinkling merrily with little golden bulbs illuminating their surroundings. Mr Evans carefully stepped out from behind the Christmas tree and then began to spin his daughter around, the two of them singing along as they danced.

 _I'd like to sing about all the things  
Your eyes and mind can see_

Mrs Evans watched them with great amusement and willingly joined in dancing when Lily tugged her off the sofa. The three of them continued to dance while they decorated the tree and only stopped when they had to place the angel at the top of the tree. Mr Evans pulled out a ladder and he held it steady while Lily climbed up and was passed the angel. She placed it carefully at the top and they all let out a sigh of relief when it didn't fall off. Gingerly, she descended the ladder and then they stepped back to admire their handiwork.

 _So hop aboard the turntable  
Oh step into Christmas with me_

The doorbell rang impatiently and Lily quickly flicked her wand so that all the boxes previously containing Christmas decorations where tidied away before she stowed away the piece of wood and went to the door with her parents. Mrs Evans opened the door and engulfed Petunia in a hug. She then turned to Vernon and, a little awkwardly, hugged him also. The two Dursleys entered the hallway and Mrs Evans closed the door behind them as Mr Evans too embraced his daughter. He and Vernon stiffly shook hands, the two males eying one another with stoic expressions.

When the couple reached Lily, they simply nodded at her and she determinately smiled back, maintaining her expression until they had been led into the dining room and she went into the kitchen to collect some food to bring through. She carried a dish of pigs in blankets into the dining room and laid it on the table as Vernon pulled out a chair, gesturing for Petunia to sit. She smiled at him gratefully and took the offered chair. Vernon sat beside her and the two remained their while Lily and her parents continued to bring more and more food to the table.

'Anyone for some wine?' Mr Evans asked, producing a bottle of red wine.

'Not for me, Father.' Petunia responded and she patted her stomach smugly; her husband sent her an indulgent smile and Lily looked down at the table as she took the furthest seat from her sister.

'I'll have a glass, William.' Vernon said, his pudgy hand holding his glass out. Mr Evans poured out some of the scarlet liquid and then looked at his wife, who shook her head, taking her seat at the table.

'Oh well, more for us men then!' He gave himself a helping of wine also as Vernon laughed, though it did not reach his eyes.

'So, Pet, have you found out the baby's gender yet?' Mrs Evans questioned eagerly as she began dishing out helpings of turkey.

'We're having a girl.' Petunia answered and then smirked at Lily as though her younger sister should have some news to compete with hers. Lily, however, remained silent, pushing a piece of turkey around her plate.

'We've chosen the nursery furnishings already – their being delivered on the 27th.' said Vernon as he put a large arm on the back of Petunia's chair. There was a momentary silence while everyone ate some of their meal.

'And we bought the paint for the wallpaper just a few days ago.' Petunia added after swallowing a mouthful of Brussel sprouts.

'Your Uncle Mat and I could come round and do the painting for you if you want. Harry's here for the holidays so I'll get him to help as well.' Mr Evans suggested and winked at his wife. 'This is some good turkey, Lottie.'

'I've already hired some _professionals_ to do it.' Petunia answered sounding as though she very much doubted her family members could do anywhere near an adequate job.

'Maybe it's best to leave it to the pros.' Mr Evans agreed into his wine glass.

'William, if you're so desperate to do some DIY then you can repaint the bathroom for me.' Mrs Evans said and she exchanged a look with her youngest daughter.

'Of course, my dear.' And he raised his glass at her, his eyes twinkling merrily. Lily smiled into her lap and finished her helping of turkey, reaching forward to take a Yorkshire pudding. She poured some gravy on it so that it pooled in the well of the pudding and waited a moment for the gravy to start soaking into it before she started eating the Yorkshire pudding with gusto.

'We're considering getting a new bathroom.' Vernon announced. 'Our current on is only a few years old but Petunia saw a nice modern orange bathroom in one of her magazines that we might try and install.'

'We just really want everything to be perfect when the baby arrives.' simpered Petunia and she smiled at Vernon before sending a vicious glare towards Lily, who was still enjoying her Yorkshire pudding. 'My books say it's our natural nesting instincts starting.'

'You've really been researching pregnancy, Pet.' Mr Evans observed and smirked to himself but stopped abruptly at a look from Mrs Evans; he arranged his features into an innocent expression and then grinned when his wife nearly choked on her drink. 'More wine, Vernon?'

'Just a spot more.' he responded and promptly kept gesturing for more wine until his glass was full. Mr Evans caught Lily's eye and they both had to turn away from one another to keep their faces straight. 'So, William, how has business been for you recently?'

'Alright.' Mr Evans took a small sip from his glass before elaborating. 'We had a large order come in just two days ago so that meant a stressful last few days at work before the holidays. I'm glad I'm in finance – we had it a lot better than the salesmen; they were negotiating until the last minute.'

'Vernon received a promotion.' Petunia gloated and again smirked at Lily as though expecting her to have something boastful to say.

'Congratulations!' Mrs Evans beamed and then glowered at her husband.

'Oh, yes, congratulations.' Mr Evans said, ever obedient to his beloved wife.

'Well, it was only a matter of time before I got it.' Vernon replied with a shrug. Still, Lily said nothing.

'Lily, can you help me with the Christmas pudding?' Mrs Evans asked her youngest daughter, rising out of her chair. Lily stood up and silently followed her mother out of the dining room and into the kitchen. She fetched a bottle of brandy from one of the kitchen cabinets while Mrs Evans took the pudding out of the fridge. Setting the bottle down, Lily picked up a box of matches from the windowsill and opened it just as her mother began to dose the pudding in brandy. Lighting the match, Lily brought the flame to the pudding and then Mrs Evans carried the flaming pudding into the dining room. Mr Evans applauded as the pudding was placed in front of him and winked at Lily when she handed him a knife.

When everyone had eaten their fill of Christmas pudding, Lily carried the dirty dishes into the kitchen with the help of her father whilst the other three headed into the living room. Then she pulled out her wand and bewitched the dishes to wash themselves in the sink.

'Bloody hell, Lily!' her father said, impressed. 'That has to be one of the best spells ever invented.'

'I'll keep watch.' Lily mumbled and took up a position in the doorway so that if Vernon came into the kitchen she would have substantial warning to stop the self-washing dishes. They stood in silence until the dishes were finished and then went into the living room, where the others already sat. Lily settled herself on the floor nearest the door and indicated her father take the last remaining space on the sofas; he did so reluctantly but grinned at the rest of the room, rubbing his hands together.

'Let's open some presents!' Usually, the Evans family opened their gifts on Christmas day but this year Petunia was going to Vernon's family for the 25th and therefore they had decided to give Petunia and Vernon their presents (and receive presents from them) on Holy Night instead. Lily went to the Christmas tree and picked up her gifts for the two Dursleys. She handed each of them their present and, to her surprise, she was given a wrapped gift also.

Vernon opened his present first and grunted his thanks to Lily for the wash kit she had bought him. Next Petunia unwrapped the gift Lily had given her, a cream scarf with matching gloves, and looked scornfully at her sister.

'I don't suit cream.' she informed her sourly and Lily bowed her head.

'Sorry…' she mumbled, staring at her hands.

'Pet! Apologise to your sister!' Mrs Evans snapped.

'Why should I?' Petunia retorted. 'If she doesn't take my complexion into consideration then that's her fault not mine!' Mrs Evans bristled and her husband rose out of his seat, looking angrily at his eldest daughter.

'Lily, picked them out specially for you!' Mrs Evans argued, indicating to her youngest daughter. 'The least you could do is say thank you!'

'Who cares?' Petunia said, waspishly. 'She's just a freak anyway!'

'Don't call me that.' Lily's hands shook as she looked defiantly at her sister.

'And why not?' Petunia challenged, folding her arms smugly.

'Because it's Christmas Eve, Tuney.' She stood up. 'Mum and Dad have worked so hard to make today great and if you call me that again I'll ruin everything.'

'Oh, really, _freak_?'

Lily's wand was out of her pocket before anyone fully realised. Pointing it at her sister, the wand trembling angrily alongside her hands, she strode towards Petunia. Mrs Evans let out an apprehensive gasp and made to move between them but her husband held her back, watching Lily curiously.

'You're right, Tuney.' Lily spat, snatching the cream scarf and gloves out of her hands. 'You don't suit cream.' She jabbed her wand at the two items and at once they became a rather foul shade of brown.

'What th-' Vernon began, his eyes wide in horror as he stared at the scarf and gloves Lily held.

'I'M A WITCH!' Lily shouted so loudly that Nigel hissed in shock from his bed in Lily's room. 'So I'm sorry Tuney that I'm not the perfect sister who doesn't give you a reason to hide from your husband what she really is. But this,' she brandished the scarf in Petunia's face, 'should suit you perfectly now - it's the colour of shit; matches your personality.'

Lily strode up to her bedroom and closed the door behind her, sliding down onto the floor and closing her eyes as she leaned against it. Twirling her wand in her fingers, Lily caused wisps of golden light to burst out of her wand at irregular intervals. The golden light fell in spirals to the floor where it vanished as it made contact with the carpet to be replaced by golden flowers, which began to bloom where the wisps disappeared. As they blossomed, the petals brushed lightly against the underside of Lily's leg and she glanced down at them in surprise. Their petals glittered in the moonlight that shone though her bedroom window and she picked one, levitating it before her with her wand.

From downstairs, the sound of more shouting drifted through the floor boards and carpet creeping into Lily's ears and she began to pick the petals off the golden flower, strewing them on her carpet. Wherever the petals landed, more golden flowers bloomed and Lily watched them begin to blossom with the gold reflecting in her emerald eyes. The argument raged on beneath her and her eyelids fluttered shut once more. She still levitated the stalk of one of the flowers with her wand and as she twirled her wand in her fingers the stalk transfigured into a large bouquet of intricate and beautiful gold and silver flowers.

The sound of the front door slamming as Petunia, closely followed by Vernon, stormed out of the house caused Lily's eyes to snap open. She heard the starting of a car engine and as it drove away, the sobbing of her mother echoed eerily about the house. Mr Evans mumbling words of comfort to his wife added to the sounds floating around Lily's room and she stood up before climbing into bed and staring at the ceiling. She lay there, still levitating her posy of flowers, her eyes fixed on the plain white ceiling as though it were the most interesting thing in the world and when her parents came up to bed a few hours later, she pretended to be asleep. They gently pushed open her door and looked around at the golden flowers with wide eyes. Seeing Lily was in bed, they looked at one another before leaving, closing the door quietly behind them.

 _Step into Christmas  
Let's join together  
We can watch the snow fall forever and ever  
Eat, drink and be merry  
Come along with me  
Step into Christmas  
The admission's free_

 **Please Review :)**


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: I think heaven answered my prayers because we got some snow! Snow! Can you believe it? And in February too! ...I am secretly very mature.**

 **Anyway...**

 **This is honestly my favourite chapter so far. I hope you like it just as much!**

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 **Chapter 24: Christmas Day**

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The morning of the 25th was relatively quiet in the Evans household, even when presents were opened during breakfast, and Lily spent most of her free time in the kitchen helping cook the Christmas lunch. When she wasn't in the kitchen, she was helping her father bring tables and chairs down from the attic and then dusting them so that they were fit for use. While Mrs Evans stuffed the freshly prepared turkey, Lily and Mr Evans arranged the tables so that there were enough spaces for all their guests that would be arriving in a few hours. The chairs not required in the dining room were placed in the living room so that after the meal there would be enough seats for everyone to sit down when they all retired from the dining room. Then Lily set the table with their finest cutlery and crockery before placing an advent wreath in the centre. She lit candles and placed crackers beside all the plates ready to be used by the guests when they took their seats.

The doorbell rang and Lily rushed to answer it. Her cousin Henry alongside his parents, her Uncle Matthew and Aunt Harriet, stood in the threshold and she beamed at them.

'Happy Christmas!' they all cried as one and then enveloped her in a tight hug. Once they let go, they stepped inside and closed the front door, hanging up their coats and scarves. Mr and Mrs Evans came into the hallway to greet them and then Aunt Harriet disappeared into the kitchen with Lily's mother while Uncle Matthew and Mr Evans went out into the garden to get some wood for the fireplace in the living room.

'Good holiday so far?' Henry asked, ruffling the hair of his cousin. 'Liv's coming later by the way. She's on a _personal errand_ at the moment.' They grinned at each other.

'The holiday's been alright. You?' Lily replied brightly as she led the way into the living room. Henry, who had been carrying a stack of presents, placed his burden underneath the Christmas tree.

'Not bad… I'm glad to be away from uni for a while though.' He grinned at her and helped her straightening chairs.

'Lots of work?' she questioned sympathetically.

'That doesn't even cut it.' Henry sighed dramatically. 'Who knew maths degrees were hard work?'

'Quite a few people, Harry.' Lily responded with a smile and he swatted her lightly on the head.

'You're supposed to be on my side!' he whined and Lily laughed lightly.

'Maybe we should put a few snacks out.' Lily suggested and Henry nodded. The two cousins headed into the kitchen where their mothers where chatting whilst chopping vegetables.

'I hope I don't have to eat that.' Henry said in mock disgust, wrinkling his nose.

'Harry!' He reached out a hand and attempted to steal one of the carrots but Aunt Harriet chivvied him away and Mrs Evans mimed smacking him on the bottom. Henry winked at the two of them before looping an arm around Lily, who took one of the carrots without being scolded and bit into it grinning at him.

'Mum, is it alright if we put some of the snacks out now?' Lily asked her mother.

'Of course, you can.' she said with a smile which Lily returned before pulling Henry into the hallway. The opened the cupboard under the stairs and took a variety of crisps with them back into the living room. While Henry went to get some bowls from the kitchen, Lily hummed to herself and opened the crisp packets. Henry returned a moment later and they poured the crisps into their respective bowls, which they placed on the coffee table by the sofas. Nigel entered the living room and mewed loudly, slinking over to Henry. He purred and rubbed himself against Henry's leg before moving towards the coffee table.

'Nigel, no.' Lily told the cat sternly and Henry laughed, lifting Nigel into the air and swirling him around.

'Don't worry, Nig, I'll give you some of my Christmas dinner.' Lily shook her head despairingly and Henry grinned at her, bringing Nigel into his chest. 'It's Christmas, Lily! I've got to spoil the poor kitty or he'll starve.'

'Starve, my arse.' Mr Evans said, coming into the living room with a pile of logs in his arms. Uncle Matthew followed a second later with some more wood also. 'He's at least twice as fat as he was when he arrived since Lottie's been feeding him double.'

'Don't listen to the nasty man, Nig.' Henry stage-whispered, cupping a hand over one of Nigel's ginger ears.

'Nigel's just sturdy, Dad.' Lily defended with a grin.

'And I'm part yeti.' Uncle Matthew said as he and Mr Evans deposited the logs in a large basket by the fire.

'You're just jealous of his muscles, right, Nig?' Henry said, bouncing the ginger tabby in he arms.

An hour later and the preparations were finished just as the doorbell rang. Mr Evans went to answer it and let in his mother, Natasha Evans, who looked ever so slightly dishevelled when she removed her hat. Lily and Henry hugged their grandmother eagerly and she smiled at the sight of them. Then the parents took their turn hugging the aged lady before she bustled into living room to place her presents under the tree.

'Where's Olivia?' she inquired, taking a seat on one of the sofas and popping a crisp into her mouth.

'She's on a personal errand.' Henry replied at once.

'Out with the Russian Mafia again, I suppose.' she said wisely.

'I'm not su-' But Lily was interrupted by Henry, who grinned at her evilly.

'Yeah, she's been seeing them a lot recently.' he agreed, nodding sincerely. Lily sighed and mumbled something about going to help her mother. However, she didn't reach the kitchen for the doorbell rang again and she went to open it.

'Lily!' her Aunt Amelia practically shrieked and Lily was soon pulled into an alarmingly tight hug. Behind her, Lily could see her husband Uncle Declan with their two daughters Juliet and Katie, the younger of the two was riding on his shoulders. He rolled his eyes at her and she smiled back, amusement twinkling in her eyes as Aunt Amelia released her. Uncle Declan put down Katie and the two little girls moved shyly forwards to greet their cousin.

'You two get taller every time I see you.' Lily said, kneeling down slightly to embrace them. 'You'll be taller than me soon!'

'Not that that's hard.' Uncle Declan joked as he took his turn to hug his niece.

'You'll still be taller than Liv.' Henry comforted her as he came out into the hallway. He shook hands with Uncle Declan and hugged Aunt Amelia also. Then he picked up Juliet and Katie and spun them around so that they were both squealing with delight. Although, Uncle Declan and Aunt Amelia were from Mrs Evans side of the family and therefore not related to Henry, he still knew them relatively well. Lily's family were very close knit and saw each other at family gatherings regularly – not to mention they all lived in the same town, except Natasha Evans, who lived by the coast.

'I'm actually average height.' Lily pointed out and closed the front door.

'Yeah, yeah… midget.' Henry teased and put Juliet and Katie back down. 'Who wants to do a piggy back race outside?' he asked loudly and both small girls nodded eagerly. 'Lily?'

'Sure!' she smiled at her younger cousins and she and Henry donned their coats and boots before leading the way through the kitchen into the garden. They were delayed as Mrs Evans and Aunt Harriet greeted Juliet and Katie but soon enough they were outside in the snow. Lily and Henry bent down so that the two little girls could climb onto their backs and then stood up.

'We're gonna win this, aren't we, Juliet?' Henry asked Juliet, who was on his back.

'Yeah!' she agreed, sticking out her tongue at Katie, who was on Lily's back. Katie and Lily pulled faces back at her and then high fived one another.

'I don't know about that…' Lily said, shaking her head seriously. 'Katie and I are a pretty wicked team.' Henry shook his fist at them and Juliet and Katie both giggled. 'Right, whoever gets to the back of the garden and back first wins.'

'You're on, Lily!' Henry winked at her and they took their places.

'Ready… Set… Go!' And they began to charge towards the furthest flower bed, ploughing their way through the thick snow which had settled on the grass. For a while Lily and Katie were in the lead but then out of nowhere hurtled Henry with Juliet on his back blowing loud raspberries as they passed. 'Noooo!' Lily cried out dramatically, for the entertainment of Katie, who giggled again as Lily attempted to speed up, stumbling slightly in the snow.

They reached the end of the garden with Henry and Juliet ever so slightly ahead and were already a little on the way back when Lily and Katie turned around. There were now footsteps from her way there were Lily could tread so she was able to run faster, though she looked a little like a Christmas elf frolicking in the snow. Stooping down to collect a handful of snow, Lily sprinted forwards with Katie shrieking in delight on her back.

'Hey, Harry!' she called and her cousin turned his head to face her, momentarily distracted. Without a second's hesitation, she threw the snow right in his face and took advantage of the time he was spluttering to cross the finish line. 'We win!'

'Cheaters! Cheaters!' Henry chanted and Juliet joined in as he began to sulk in an over exaggerated fashion.

'We won fair and square.' Lily responded, letting Katie down from her back. However, as she stood up again, she was met with a face full of powdery snow.

'SNOWBALL FIGHT!' Henry declared and for 10 minutes of so the four of them contented themselves with throwing snowball after snowball at one another. Their fun was brought to an end when Uncle Matthew poked his head out to announce the food was ready; he was promptly hit in the face by a snowball thrown by his 19-year-old son. Juliet and Katie began to make their way inside and Lily followed them until she was rugby tackled from behind. There was a significant struggle as each of the cousins attempted to throw as much snow in one another's faces as possible.

'Hurry up!' a slightly grumpy voice said from the door into the kitchen. It was Olivia and she folded her arms as she observed her cousin and brother getting cautiously to their feet, brushing off snow from the coats.

'How'd the _personal errand_ go, Liv?' Henry asked as he and Lily made their way cheerfully inside.

'He's coming later.' she responded. Henry and Lily grinned at each other.

The three of them headed into the hallway and Olivia went into the dining room with an irritated huff whilst Henry and Lily remained behind, removing their coats and scarves. Outside it had begun snowing once more and the tracks made by the piggy back race were slowly starting to fill. The two cousins made their way into the dining room and took the two available seats opposite one another by Juliet and Katie. To Olivia's disgruntlement, Henry took the seat that had her on the other side and Lily the one with her Uncle Declan next to her. She turned to help Juliet cut up some of her turkey and Henry mirrored the action with Katie's plate.

'Mum said you're inviting some of your mates for New Year.' Henry said to Lily and then shot a look at Olivia. 'Is James coming?' Olivia scowled at him.

'Yes.' Lily nodded and the two cousins shared an amused glance before watching Olivia's neck slowly rise in colour. 'I also invited Marlene and Remus – you know them. And Sirius and Peter.'

'That's a lot of male friends, Lily.' Uncle Declan said from beside her, wagging his finger in an accusatory manner.

'Just what I was about to say.' Henry agreed, shaking his head at his cousin. 'And on the topic of males, have you sh-' he broke off with a glance at Juliet and Katie, who were watching their conversation with rapt attention. ' _Had fun_ with James yet?' Lily's eyes widened and Uncle Declan snorted beside her, high fiving Henry across the table. Olivia beadily watched her cousin over the top of her glass. But Lily was spared from answering by her mother asking if anyone wanted more roast vegetables. This led conversation away from her and she was able to ponder in silence why her cousin would ask such a question.

' _You don't_ _ **like**_ _Potter, do you?'  
_ Unbidden into Lily's mind came Marlene's words from a week prior and she mulled over them as she chewed on a piece of roast parsnip.

At 3.00 pm they all went into the living room to watch the Queen's speech to the Commonwealth. Some of them, Natasha Evans included, watched with undivided attention but others, including Juliet and Katie, grew slightly bored so Lily took them up to the bathroom to get some of her less beloved makeup while they waited for the 10-minute speech to finish. By the time they had returned, the TV was turned off and everyone was absorbed in their conversations. Uncle Matthew and Mr Evans were lighting the fire while Henry laughed at them and Olivia was talking to Aunt Amelia, though she kept glancing at the clock above the fireplace. Natasha Evans was discussing this and that with her two daughters in law and Uncle Declan so Lily seated herself cross-legged on the floor and Juliet and Katie set to work.

They did Lily's makeup for a good half an hour and she remained seated for the whole of it, obediently following their instructions. The two little girls had their brows furrowed in concentration and quite expertly discussed their ideas for their older cousin's face.

'You look beautiful, Lily.' Henry said, sitting down with them on the floor.

'Thanks.' she responded with a grin in his direction

'Wear that around James and he'll propose to you on the spot.' he declared, with an air of a great seer who had just predicted the birth of a powerful king. Lily said nothing in response rather choosing to close her eyes so that Katie could give her blue eyeshadow.

'Lily, is James your boyfriend?' Juliet asked shyly.

'James and I go to boarding school together.' Lily replied, her eyes still shut, and Henry began laughing beside her. He rolled around on the floor as he clutched his stomach, gasping for air in between his chortles. Juliet and Katie looked extremely confused but Lily guessed she knew her elder cousin's train of thought. 'Very mature, Harry.'

'T-that me!' he retorted, still cackling madly.

'It's lucky we're going to church soon.' Mr Evans said, having stopped by them long enough to hear most of the conversation. 'You two are corrupting poor Juliet and Katie!' He ruffled Lily's hair affectionately and then chuffed Henry lightly on the head. 'And get your head out the gutter, young man.' he added, pretending to be deadly serious.

'Yes, Uncle Will!' Henry called after him, miming a solute and continuing to chortle. Mr Evans waved a hand at them and then sauntered up to his wife, producing a clump of mistletoe out of nowhere and holding it above her. He pointed at his cheek and she went to kiss it but he turned his head so their lips met. Lily smiled to herself at the sight of her parents and laughed when Henry mimed throwing up for the benefit of Juliet and Katie, who giggled. 'Get a room, you two.'

The doorbell rang and everyone, except the three young adults, looked at one another in surprise. Olivia jumped out of her seat, squealing happily, and practically sprinted to answer the door. While she opened the front door to whoever had come to call, Mr Evans, having noticed neither Lily or Henry seemed surprised, made his way over to his daughter and nephew.

'I wonder who this could be…' Henry said loudly, pretending to think and Lily chuckled silently. And then the mysterious visitor revealed themselves as Olivia re-entered the living room, her lips a little swollen. Henry and Lily grinned at each other.

The room fell into an unnatural silence as all eyes were on the young male standing just behind Olivia. He stood awkwardly in the doorway, Olivia's hand in his.

'He does have a lip piercing.' Mr Evans stage-whispered to Henry. Uncle Declan snorted and he began to laugh alongside both Henry and Mr Evans; Uncle Matthew joined in but was silenced with a glare from his wife. Aunt Amelia and Mrs Evans were smiling to themselves and it seemed only Aunt Harriet and Natasha Evans regarded him coldly. Juliet and Katie didn't understand what was going on and therefore looked in between everyone else like spectators of a tennis rally. Lily stood up and walked over to the couple, beaming at them.

'Lily Evans.' she introduced, holding out her hand. He took in her bizarre makeup, curtesy of Juliet and Katie, and her eyes began to glitter with silent laughter.

'Bradley Russell.' he responded, shaking her hand, evidently grateful she was being friendly.

'Have you eaten yet?' she asked, glancing at her mother. 'We've got some leftovers if you want something.'

'I al-' he began but Olivia interrupted him.

'No, he hasn't. We'll go get some.' The two cousins shared a look of understanding and then ushered Olivia's boyfriend into the kitchen thus allowing the rest of their family to discuss the matter in hand out of earshot of the new arrival.

'He seemed quite friendly.' Mrs Evans reasoned as the living room door shut.

'He works at Woolworths!' Aunt Harriet hissed, with a tone of voice suggesting her argument was the only valid one. 'That makes him untrustworthy!'

'Here, here.' Natasha Evans agreed. 'That boy's in the Russian Mafia – Harry told me so.'

'Harry!' Uncle Matthew chided, turning to face his eldest child. 'How many times do we have to tell you not to tell your Gran people are in the Russian Mafia?'

'Sorry, Dad.' Henry replied, trying and failing to keep a straight face.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Lily was putting together a plate of Christmas dinner for Bradley while Olivia babbled happily about their relationship. Her cousin kept sending her boyfriend loving glances and Lily was incredibly glad she could focus on cutting Bradley a portion of turkey.

'We met in Woolworths, obviously,' Olivia gushed, snuggling into her boyfriend's torso, 'and I was looking at a set of knickers. There wasn't a price on them so I looked around for someone to ask and there was this handsome boy…' Lily decided she was going to need more than just a distraction to get through this and reached for some of the brandy used on the Christmas pudding. She poured some into a glass and downed it in a matter of seconds before returning to her task in hand. '…and then he asks me on a date out of the blue and I was like "how could I resist?". Oh, it was so romantic – just like a story!'

'How l-'

'We were just made for each other, weren't we, Brad?' Olivia giggled happily and Bradley kissed her passionately on the lips.

'Written in the stars, you and me, babe.' he murmured into her lips and Lily found her hand reach once more for the brandy bottle. However, as her hands clasped around the bottle, something inside of her seemed mentally halt this thought process. She found herself bitterly wishing she was with the rest of her family either contributing or listening to the belittling of Bradley.

Evening came and with the weather report finishing on TV, not to mention all the presents handed out and opened, everyone went into the hall and put on their coats, Lily now free of her younger cousins' facial artwork, ready to make the 10-minute trek to the local church in which Petunia had married Vernon. As they walked, Olivia and her boyfriend strode ahead, hand in hand, with the adults behind them. Juliet rode on her father's shoulders and Katie on Mr Evans' shoulders while Lily and Henry lingered behind, throwing snow at one another as they moved along the pavement.

The church seemed much less large and unnecessarily extravagant now that they were no longer members of a wedding party; it was decorated with holly and ivy, not to mention a beautiful wreath hanging on the large double doors. Inside, the crib scene took centre stage and the stable was covered in fairy lights. An intricate star of Bethlehem hung from the ceiling and a large Christmas tree decorated by the children of the church's Sunday school, Juliet and Katie included, stood in its pride of place next to the pulpit.

For the next hour and a half, they all watched the older children of the Sunday school act out the nativity, sang hymns and carols as well as listening to the minister preach about the meaning of Christmas. Henry caused both Lily and Olivia into fits of silent hysterics as he warbled the words of _O Little Town of Bethlehem_ and stood pompously, supposedly singing with such passion. Lily tried to ignore him for the next carol so that she could sing along but then Henry began to boom _Away in a Manger_ directly into her ear and she gave up. The service came to an end and everyone wished the minister a happy Christmas as they passed him on their way out, giving a small donation to the church as they did so. Then they all returned to Evans' house for a mug of hot chocolate and a last chat before one by one the guests headed home.

Once the guests had left, Lily bewitched the dishes to wash themselves once more and helped her mother put away the left-over food while Mr Evans brought in any plates and cups from the living room. They finished cleaning and headed into the living room to tune in for the Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show, which they all watched with tears of laughter in their eyes, Lily particularly excited during Elton John's cameo on the programme. When the ten o'clock news began, Lily excused herself leaving the living room late enough to hear there had been gas explosion in Aberdeen. She sighed and climbed the stairs, turning into her bedroom and stepping cautiously over the golden flowers, which still flowered in her carpet, as she made her way to her bed. Yawning widely, she collapsed onto her bed, not even bothering to change her clothes, and fell quickly into a deep contented sleep.

However, after what seemed like only seconds later, she awoke abruptly and stared around her dark bedroom. Her curtains were open, having never been shut when she went to bed, and the room was silent with no indication as to why she had woken so suddenly. The rest of the house sounded still except from the occasional snore drifting down the upstairs hallway from her parent's bedroom. Lily fumbled blindly around her bedside table for her wand and, once her fingers had grasped around the piece of wood, she stood up, tousle-haired, and made her way cautiously towards her window.

There was a sudden knock on one of the panes of glass and Lily froze where she was, currently out of sight, as she studied the human shaped shadow that had blocked some of the moonlight from streaming into her room. She considered her next move for a moment and then, with a deep breath, she stepped into view. Her emerald eyes widened in surprise as they were met by a pair of handsome hazel ones and she undid the latch on the window, pulling it open, attempting to form a word.

'I believe you agreed I could take you flying.' James said smugly and Lily noticed he wasn't levitating himself in the air but sitting on a broomstick.

'I-oh, happy Christmas!' she uttered, smiling despite her slightly tired state.

'Happy Christmas to you too!' James took in her ruffled clothes and dishevelled hair, alongside her red cheeks from having been under her warm bedcovers for several hours.

'Well, I s-suppose I should keep my promise.' she mumbled and he nodded with a grin.

'You might want a coat – it's cold out here.'

'Oh, yes…' Lily summoned a blanket from her cupboard and transfiguring it into an extremely cosy coat, which she donned and then slipped on a pair of pumps. She clambered onto her windowsill and then gingerly lowered herself onto the broomstick. 'Y-you won't let me fall, will you?' Her voice was slightly panicked as her fear of heights caught up with her.

'Course not!' he laughed and she put her arms around his torso, clinging to him like a limpet. 'By the way,' James said over his shoulder as his heart warmed at her contact, 'what's with the gold flowers?'

'Um… Mu-Muggle tradition…' she lied and he didn't question her for her arms began trembling as she glanced downwards. James lifted one hand off his broom and placed it over Lily's to comfort her.

'Hey, it's okay.' he told her softly. 'You're safe, you're not going to fall.' Lily mumbled something into his back which was inaudible and as they flew away, Lily clamped her eyes shut, hiding her face in James' coat. They flew high above Lily's home town and had she braved looking towards the ground she could have pointed out all the places where her family lived as well as admire the glowing street lamps illuminating the world below in an orangey light.

James increased the speed of the broom and they zoomed above the clouds with Lily still mumbling to herself; he strained his ears to listen to her and heard a few words of what sounded like her last will and testament. A huge grin appeared on his face, one that didn't fade despite the cold air rushing passed them that would usually freeze the bone marrow. However, James was incredibly warm and content which was quite controversial considering the temperature around them. Lily snuck a peek at their surroundings and gasped slightly.

'Lily?' James asked, suddenly concerned.

'T-the moon…' she whispered, leaning the side of her head on his back and watching the clouds create a beard for the full moon that hung in the sky. 'You've left Remus alone…'

'Mr and Mrs Lupin don't let us see him during the holidays when it's full moon.' James explained.

'I suppose…'

'Yeah, the Marauders listen to parents sometimes, even if we don't like it. Besides if we turned up they'd realise – realise we…' James trailed off, his expression turned to a frown. 'Wait. How d'you know that we keep him company on the full moon?'

'Another trade secret.' she replied, grinning into his back once more.

'So, you know we're An-'

'Animagi? Yes.'

'And what we transform into?'

'You should never reveal to your opponent how much you know.' Lily said wisely and he chuckled lightly. 'It gives you the upper hand.'

'I'll take that as a no.' he supposed smugly and she simply shrugged her shoulders with mischief twinkling in her eyes but, as she was behind him, he couldn't see. 'And your opponent, am I?'

'In this scenario, yes.'

'Well, hold on tight, _opponent_. We're heading down.' At his words, Lily's hold on him increased in tightness and she hid her face once more in his back, letting out a small whimper as they dived. Plummeting towards the ground, James felt a big swooping sensation in his stomach which had nothing to do with the direction they were flying. Their feet hit the ground with a soft thud and Lily jumped of the broom eagerly, looking around her as though she couldn't believe she had survived riding on a broomstick.

They had arrived in a small clearing in snow covered forest and James led the way over to a large tree stump. With a flick of his wand, he covered it with a conjured blanket and they sat down.

'Did you like your Christmas present?' Lily asked, fiddling with the sleeve of her coat. 'I wasn't sure about the Quidditch gloves but Marlene sai-'

'Lily, they're brilliant.' James reassured her as he fumbled around in his pocket. Lily didn't notice; she was too busy feeling relieved that he hadn't hated the present she gifted him. 'I-I wanted to give you yours in person.'

'Oh, you didn't have to get me anything. I think flying definitely counts as one.' Lily smiled at him. 'Once we were above the clouds, it wasn't too bad.' James produced a small wrapped box and held it out to her.

'I hope you like it.'

'I'm sure it's lovely.' She gently pulled back the wrapping paper to reveal a small black box. Opening it carefully she stared at the gift inside; it was a beautifully delicate gold bracelet with a small doe as a charm. Lily turned to face James, her eyes wide. 'H-how…'

'I bought it in Diagon Alley.' he responded, looking amused.

'No, not that…' She continued to stare at him.

'It just reminded me of you so I bought it.' James said with a shrug, still not understanding Lily's meaning.

' _Expecto Patronum_.' she whispered and out of her wand burst a beautiful silver doe that walked around the clearing for a moment, analysing its surroundings with apparent interest, and then vanished. Now James stared back at her. He didn't say anything, and they sat they for a long time just looking at one another, both parties as surprised as the other, although James' mind was racing.

 **Please Review :)**

 **Did you love Lily's family? Henry is probably one of my favourite characters in this story. And what about that Lily/James moment? Did you enjoy it? I'm really sorry if the bracelet was cheesy but I'm terrible at giving people gifts in both real life and in fanfiction.**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: Happy mother's day! This chapter has nothing to do with mother's day - obviously - but I hope everyone's celebrating. Anyway, I really hope you like this chapter!**

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 **Chapter 25: New Year's Eve**

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The doorbell on the Evans' front door rang incessantly and Mr Evans put his newspaper over his head, groaning into the picture of the Prime Minister lighting a firework. There was a brief silence and then the doorbell rang once more.

'LILY, IF YOU DON'T ANSWER THE DOOR AND LET MARLENE IN I'M GOING TO GO MAD!' he shouted in the direction of the open living room door leading into the hallway. His red-headed daughter moved slowly into view and he noticed, with a nasty jolt, that her eyes were slightly wide and nervous. Lily had in fact been like this since, to his memory, Boxing Day, her face looking as though she was analysing her chance of survival. Alongside her slight deer in headlights appearance, Lily had been incredibly distracted, usually needing to be addressed several times before she reacted.

Mr Evans let out a small sigh of relief as the door opened and he instantly heard Marlene comment on Lily's appearance. Mrs Evans waved at their guest before poking her head into the living room, where her husband sat, reading his newspaper.

'You could have answered the door yourself, William.' she pointed out and came into the room. She dropped a kiss on her husband's head as he grunted with an exaggerated scowl. He tilted his upwards and caught his wife's lips with his own as she looked down at him sternly. Mrs Evans swatted him on the head with a light laugh.

'Yes, but I never miss the opportunity to overhear Marlene struggle not to swear.' And both adults chuckled.

Meanwhile, Marlene was leading the way up the stairs and into Lily's bedroom complaining about Sirius, who by the sounds of it had been writing to her every day.

'And he won't fucking stop!' she concluded as Lily closed the bedroom door behind them. Lily said nothing, her face still with her slightly terrified frown. 'Are you listening?'

'Yes, you've been writing to Sirius.' she said with a nod while her brow furrowed further as though her brain had presented her with another danger she had to confront.

'No!' Marlene shook her best friend as though hoping to remove a demon. 'He's been writing to me!'

'To you?' Lily asked blankly.

'Yes, to me.' Marlene responded impatiently. Lily's facial expression did not change and her best friend suddenly regarded her worriedly. 'What's wrong?'

'I… Nothing.'

'Bullshit.' Marlene pulled out her wand and cast a charm to muffle the door so that they would have no eavesdroppers. 'Spill.'

'I… I think – I think I like James…' The two best friends sank onto Lily's bed and leaned against the wall in silence.

'We're both fucking pathetic.' Marlene said to the room at large, her eyes looking around the bedroom as though expecting Lily's poster of Elton John to contradict her. 'We're ruddy Agony Aunts for fuck's sake!'

'Sometimes I find that quite ironic.' Lily mused, a mischievous grin replacing her previous expression. 'And my getting Head girl.'

'But, Lil, we're model students.' Marlene replied sarcastically, the same grin appearing on her face. Lily let out a snort and a second later the two were howling with laughter, clutching one another for support. They were laughing so hard that Marlene fell of the bed with a loud thud and rolled around on the carpet pounding the floor with her fists. It took a while for the two best friends to calm down and when they did, they were both out of breath and gasping for air.

'We've been so good this year,' Lily said, her eyes saddening slightly. 'I still miss last year when we ran t-'

'Are you two alright in here?' Mr Evans popped his head inside the bedroom.

'Oh, we're fine.' Lily replied, smiling innocently at her father.

'Okay… It just sounded like a herd of elephants landed in here.'

'That was me.' Marlene told him, bowing. 'I fell off the bed.'

'Right.' He grinned at the pair of them. 'Try not to kill yourselves before the party.' Mr Evans closed the door behind him and they heard him head down the stairs.

'Do the Marauders know they'll be with Muggles?' Marlene asked, turning to Lily.

'Yes, I told them in the invites.' she nodded and Marlene lay back on the floor, closing her eyes.

'Just wait till Potter meets your Gran.'

The next few hours were spent arranging chairs and carrying as much alcohol and food from the garage into the kitchen as possible. Marlene and Lily impressed Mrs Evans with their mass cooking skills and she even commented that they must have had a lot of practice mass producing things by magic; she missed the mischievous glance exchanged by the two best friends and by the time she stopped admiring the three pots being magically stirred, they had returned to concentrating on bewitching ingredients to mix together.

Mr Evans and Henry, who arrived around lunch time, set up the fireworks in the garden meaning that Lily and Marlene had to cease their use of magic and arrange chairs in the living room by hand. They blew up balloons and hung up some New Year themed bunting, laughing at Henry after he screamed upon accidently stepping on one of the said balloons and causing it to burst. All in all, Marlene and Lily were in quite the laughable mood leading them to practically laugh nonstop for ten minutes when Mr Evans chased his wife with the leftover mistletoe around the living room. Henry too joined as Mr Evans trapped Mrs Evans behind the Christmas tree and the three young adults left them to it by having a snow fight outside.

At 4 pm, Henry headed home to get changed and Lily and Marlene headed upstairs to do the same. Lily opened her wardrobe and took out a pair of emerald green sequin shorts which her parents had given her for Christmas alongside its matching loose tank top and a black blazer that had once belonged to Petunia. She reached for a pair black tights and started to change into them as Marlene produced a glittering gold dress from her handbag, which Lily knew had an undetectable extension charm on it. Then, she sunk her hand back into her bag and it disappeared up to her shoulder as she searched around in it for what turned out to be an extremely high pair of black T-bar stilettoes.

'Those'll be fun to wear.' Lily said, nodding her head at the shoes.

'Well, they make my legs look fucking fantastic.' Marlene responded, wiggling her eyebrows.

'I'll make sure Sirius is sitting down for when you strut passed.'

'Cheers, Lil.' She mimed raising a glass to her best friend and then pulled off her clothes, changing into her dress. 'Look at my beautiful legs.' Marlene instructed Lily as she slipped on her high heels.

'Very beautiful.' Lily agreed, putting on her comfortable black pumps while searching for a certain black box, locating it on her desk. She shuffled over to it and took out the gold bracelet inside; putting on her wrist, she reached for her makeup bag and sat down in front of her bedroom mirror.

'Are you gunna kiss him?' Marlene asked her best friend, observing her thoughtfully. 'At midnight, I mean…'

'Who?' Lily turned to face her, utterly nonplussed.

'The old man who lives across the street.'

'Probably not.' she replied with a shrug and returned to applying her makeup.

'Why not?' Marlene sounded exasperated and appeared so also as she tugged at her hair in frustration.

'Because he's an old man.' Lily said, grinning slightly as Marlene scowled.

'Not him,' Marlene cried impatiently, 'Potter!'

'Because I don't know if he feels the same way and I've only recently realised I like him.' Lily explained with the air of someone discussing the day's weather. 'Are you going to kiss Sirius at midnight?'

'No.' Marlene responded crossly. 'Actually, scratch that, I'll be proper pissed by then so in my plastered state I probably will. Ah, well, I can just pretend I don't remember it – not like that hasn't worked before…'

'Such a skilled liar.' Lily complimented as she added small wings to her eyeliner.

'We would've been in deep shit with McGonagall last year if I wasn't.' Marlene winked at her best friend, who laughed.

'And I'm ever grateful.' Lily moved away from the mirror and Marlene took her place in front of it. She hummed to herself as she plopped down onto her bed and reached for her wand. The gold flowers Lily had conjured on Christmas Eve were now hidden in a box beneath her bed and as she thought of them, another wisp of golden light burst from the wand tip and, just as before, when the light came into contact with something, a golden flower bloomed, in this case her duvet.

6 pm rolled into view and with it came the first set of Lily's relatives ready to welcome the New Year. Uncle Matthew and Aunt Harriet arrived with a slightly grumpy Natasha Evans, followed a few minutes later by their children, Henry and Olivia, as well as Bradley, who entered the house with his hands in his pockets, eyeing everyone except Lily with nervousness. She beamed at all of them and then introduced Marlene to Bradley – Marlene had been around so often that Lily's family knew her already, having met on several occasions. The first party moved into the living room with Mr and Mrs Evans leaving the two girls to wait for the next arrivals.

'Olivia should dump that boyfriend of hers – he's got wanker written all over him.' Marlene muttered to Lily with a disgusted look in the direction of the living room.

'He seemed really nice when I spoke to him.' Lily replied, echoing Marlene's hushed volume. Her best friend snorted and Lily looked at her in surprise. 'What? He was lovely.'

'You wait and see.' Marlene said just as the doorbell trilled loudly. It was Uncle Declan, Aunt Amelia and little Juliet and Katie. Greetings were exchanged and Aunt Amelia exclaimed about how much Marlene had grown since she last saw her. Then, there were a few hugs and handshakes before they made their way into the living room also, once again leaving Lily and Marlene to man the front door. 'I guarantee he will of tried to hit on one of us by 11.'

'Maybe…' Lily sounded unwilling to insult her cousin's significant other.

'Lil, I guarantee it.' Marlene told her confidently and then grimaced as the familiar doorbell sound rang in the hallway. Lily nudged her with a small smile and then opened the door to four young male individuals. She hugged all of them in greeting once they had entered the threshold but Marlene settled for shaking hands instead, though she stiffly gave Remus a small one-armed hug, looking like she hated every second of it. Remus exchanged a grin with Lily and the two tried not to laugh as the Marauders hung up their coats.

The arrival of the Marauders was a cause of great excitement amongst Lily's relatives and they all took their turns hugging and shaking the hands of the four males. Remus and James were not new acquaintances to them, in particular Remus, and the pair of them were greeted with a little more enthusiasm than Sirius and Peter. The foursome was quickly split up as Natasha Evans beckoned both James and Sirius imperiously towards her and Henry dragged Remus over to where he'd been sitting while Peter was quickly engaged in conversation, though in relatively low voices, with Marlene about Quidditch teams.

Lily stood by her parents, who were chatting together, without paying attention to their words as she observed her fellow Wizards. Her eyes shined with amusement as she noticed James' slightly fearful expression as her grandmother spoke to him and Sirius, who also listened, looked constipated as he tried desperately not to laugh. Henry and Remus seemed to be chuckling together about something or other and when Lily caught their eye, their faces briefly showed guilt before they started chortling again. Marlene and Peter kept gesticulating passionately and it was evident their conversation had spurred on into a debate.

'Hey,' a voice said beside her and she jumped slightly. Turning to face her new company, Lily's emerald eyes took in Bradley standing beside her holding out a glass of rosé wine.

'Oh, thanks.' She smiled at him, accepting the drink and taking a small sip. 'Where's Olivia?'

'She's talking to her mum.' Bradley responded, Lily noting he sounded strangely subdued at the mention of his girlfriend.

'Have you decided on your New Year's resolutions yet?' Lily asked, attempting polite conversation.

'Kind of,' He shrugged and slid his hands into his pockets.

'That's good.' Lily agreed, smiling vaguely at him.

'Bringing life to the next level – if you know what I mean…' She did not know what he meant and simply nodded slowly as he winked at her. Lily studied him for a while and then her face filled with dawning comprehension.

'I'm sure Olivia would love that!' Lily exclaimed happily but Bradley's expression clearly indicated that her interpretation was not inline with the correct answer. There was a loud snort from behind the pair and Bradley spun around to see Marlene and Peter standing behind them. He opened his mouth to say something but then decided at the equally set expressions of the two new arrivals that he was outnumbered and therefore chose to stalk off to where Olivia now sat alone, having caused her mother to huff over to where her husband stood with Uncle Declan.

'I'll take this opportunity to say I fucking told you so.' Marlene said smugly. She was faced, however, with two confused expressions. 'I said he'd try hit on one of us by 11.'

'But he wa-'

'Yes, he was.' Peter cut across Lily, nodding firmly. 'And I'm flattered you thought he might try hit on me, although Flora won't be too happy.' All three of them laughed, though Lily was still more than a little confused.

As midnight neared, everyone donned their coats and headed outside, ready to watch the fireworks arranged in the garden by Henry and Mr Evans that afternoon. Lily stood in between Marlene and Remus, all three of them looking up at the dark night sky, waiting for the fireworks display to start. There was a brief silence and they all stood with baited breath, listening for the sound of fizzing indicating the first firework was lit. And then it came, followed quickly by a burst of light in the sky. As Lily watched the display, she felt a small tug on the bottom of her shorts and she glanced down to seem both Juliet and Katie standing there, looking scared by the sound of exploding fireworks. She smiled and knelt down, enveloping them in a warm hug so that they could hide their faces in her arms while Lily continued to watch the sky above.

After the last firework had been exploded, they all clapped and both Henry and Mr Evans bowed. Then the cold got the better of them as their watches showed 11.59 pm and everyone headed back inside and into the living room. Mrs Evans flicked on the TV just in time to see Big Ben chime in the New Year and this was then proceeded by a rendition of Auld Lang Syne on the screen.

 _Should auld acquaintance be forgot,  
And never brought to mind?  
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,  
And auld lang syne! _

_For auld lang syne, my dear,  
For auld lang syne.  
We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,  
For auld lang syne. _

The Marauders and Marlene looked baffled when everyone joined hands and began singing but they began to sway alongside Lily and her relatives, although they didn't sing, not knowing the words. Once the sound of bagpipes came to an end, the kissing began and Lily kissed her family on the cheeks before doing the same with Marlene and the Marauders. James' entire face turned scarlet as Lily's lips made contact with his cheek and she smiled as she chinked her glass against his.

'That's a nice bracelet.' he said, in an attempt to distract her from the colouring in his face.

'Thanks.' she responded and smiled wider as she nursed a sip of her wine, hiccupping slightly. 'I think I should stop with the alcohol now…' Lily beamed up at James and downed the rest of her glass, putting it down on the nearby coffee table. 'I'm a little tipsy.'

'Always the perfect student, eh?' James replied, grinning down at her as she let out a slightly intoxicated giggle.

'You know, everyone always thinks Marlene and I are such good students – it's funny really.' She giggled again and James raised an amused eyebrow.

'Been putting books back in the wrong shelves in the library, have you?' he joked and she shook her head.

'No, no, no.' Lily answered, still smiling widely and she pressed a shushing finger to James' lips. 'We se- no, I can't tell you that. That would ruin everything.' She giggled loudly and skipped off over to Henry, leaving behind a baffled James Potter.

He watched her leave and raised a hand to where her lips had brushed his cheek. His insides were warm and the cogs in his brain turned as he mulled over her parting words. Then Sirius moved over to him and pressed a shot of a clear liquid he didn't know into his hand; James swallowed it and winced as the harsh alcohol filled his taste buds. But after a moment, the alcohol blurred his mind slightly and he stopped analysing his conversation with Lily.

'It's called vodka.' Sirius informed him. 'Henry gave me some.'

'I'd be careful, lads.' Mr Evans said, appearing suddenly beside them. 'I've tried your lot's firewhisky and this stuff's twice as strong.' He took the shot glass off James and exchanged it with a glass of water. 'I think this is safer.'

 **Please Review :)**

 **What do you think Marlene and Lily have been up to?**


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: Thank you so much for your reviews! We just hit 50 reviews! Yay!  
It's back to school for our main characters and what fun awaits them after Christmas? And what about drama? Probably a little bit of drama - Sirius and Marlene are in this story after all! Hehe...**

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 **Chapter 26: The Choice of Words**

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The compartment shared by Marlene and Lily was not quiet for very long as half an hour into the journey back to Hogwarts, the Marauders had noisily taken up residence with them. Lily had been looking out of the window, thinking of her family, when they'd entered and didn't tear her gaze away, not even when James lowered himself onto the seat beside her so close he was practically resting his shoulder against her back. Marlene had simply ignored them, sitting cross-legged in her own seat and reading her magazine with a furrowed brow; every so often she would note something down on a piece of parchment beside her and when Sirius leaned over to see what she was scribbling, he saw a complicated diagram of many dots and crisscrossing lines on a Quidditch pitch. He reached out a hand to try and steal the parchment but was slapped in the face by Marlene, who didn't even glance up at him. Rubbing his cheek gingerly, Sirius smirked at Remus, who groaned in response and disappeared behind his book, _The Harpy & The Hippogriff_, which Lily had given him for Christmas. Peter pulled out some last-minute Defence Against the Dark Arts homework and James absentmindedly took up playing with Lily's deep red hair; she didn't seem to notice as she stared intently out of the compartment window.

An awkward silence fell and James shifted uncomfortably. It was almost as though Lily had read his thoughts for she began to hum quietly and the sweet sound of her melody filled the air, easing James' discomfort instantly. Remus smiled contentedly and Marlene swayed slightly, closing her eyes momentarily before softly joining in. Sirius jerked his head in her direction and his face changed from a smirk to a small, lopsided smile as he looked at the female beside him. Peter tapped his quill in time and snickered lightly as he and Remus looked towards James and Sirius staring at Lily and Marlene and then catching one another's eyes. They grinned and Remus soon chuckled also.

The humming eventually trailed out as Marlene returned to her magazine and Lily changed how she sat so that she could lean her head against the wall of the compartment. She closed her eyes and slowly but surely drifted into a deep, peaceful sleep.

 _Lily stared after her older sister with tears in her eyes._ Freak. _That word had hurt more than she allowed herself to show and after shaking herself slightly, Lily waved at her parents with a determinately cheerful face and climbed onto the train._

 _Inside the compartment she had stowed her trunk in earlier where a group of four boys all laughing together. Her face set, Lily seated herself on the seat nearest the window but none of the boys paid her any heed being far too busy chuckling at something the bespectacled one of the four had said. Now the tears fell, silently, down her cheeks as Lily watched the train pull out of the station. It would be a long time before she saw her family again. At that thought, Lily wept harder and although three of the boys firmly ignored her, one, a boy with a sickly face but kind eyes, offered her a chocolate bar._

' _T-thank you.' she mumbled and he smiled slightly at her before returning to the boys' conversation. Lily nibbled the chocolate, it was a bar of Cadbury's milk chocolate, and savoured the taste, using it as a nice distraction from her crying._

 _The compartment door slid opened and in walked her best friend Severus. He was already dressed in his Hogwarts robes and looked relieved at finding her. Lily, however, kept her gaze on the window. Severus sat himself down opposite her and the four other boys continued their conversing as though neither Lily or Severus existed._

' _I don't want to talk to you.' she said in a constricted voice._

' _Why not?'_

' _Tuney h-hates me. Because we saw that letter from Dumbledore.'_

' _So what?'_

 _She threw him a look of deep dislike._

' _So she's my sister!'_

' _She's only a-' He stopped himself quickly; Lily, too busy trying to wipe her eyes without being noticed, did not hear him.  
'But we're going!' he said, unable to supress the exhilaration in his voice. 'This is it! We're off to Hogwarts!'_

 _She nodded, mopping her eyes, but in spite of herself, she half smiled._

' _You'd better be in Slytherin,' said Severus, encouraged that she had brightened a little._

' _Slytherin?'_

 _One of the boys sharing the compartment looked around at them despite having shown no previous interest in the pair of them. He had black hair and wore glasses with a clearly skinny form but it was clear that he had an indefinable air of having been well cared for, even adored, which Severus conspicuously lacked. This boy was James Potter._

' _Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?' James asked the boy lounging on the seats opposite him, Sirius Black. Sirius did not smile._

' _My whole family have been in Slytherin,' he said._

' _Blimey,' said James, 'and I thought you seemed alright!'_

 _Sirius grinned._

' _Maybe I'll break tradition. Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?'_

 _James lifted an invisible sword._

'"Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart! _" Like my dad.'_

 _Severus made a small, disparaging noise. James turned on him._

' _Got a problem with that?'_

' _No,' said Severus, though his slight sneer said otherwise. 'If you'd rather be brawny than brainy-'_

' _Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?' interjected Sirius._

 _James roared with laughter. Lily sat up, rather flushed, and looked from James to Sirius in dislike._

' _Come on, Severus, let's find another compartment.'_

' _Oooooo…'_

 _James and Sirius imitated her lofty voice; James tried to trip Severus as he passed._

' _See ya, Snivellus!' a voice called, as the compartment door slammed shut. Lily reached out and squeezed her best friend's hand._

' _Don't listen to them, Sev.' she said with disdainful glare behind her. They made their way along the corridor and eventually found a compartment with a single girl sitting inside it reading a magazine named_ Quidditch Cognizance _. She looked up as they entered and Lily gulped nervously. Although the girl had a pretty face with large dark eyes, her expression was sour as she regarded the two of them._

' _What?' she snapped and Lily's eyes widened._

' _W-we were wondering if we could sit in here…' Lily mumbled timidly and the girl shrugged before turning back to her magazine._

 _Severus cast the girl a disgusted look but nevertheless he and Lily sat down in the seats nearest the door._

' _I don't suppose either of you've seen a wanker in glasses yelling "Gryffindor till I die!" by any chance?' she asked over the top of her magazine after a few minutes of absolute silence. Lily fiddled with her sleeve nervously._

' _Um… Yes… He was sitting with some other boys a few carriages down from this one.' The girl groaned irritably._

' _Prick. James promised we'd sit together.' But despite her apparent annoyance at James, the girl made no move to go and find him. She cast another look at the carriage's other two occupants and then returned to reading her copy of_ Quidditch Cognizance _._

 _The train eventually reached Hogsmeade Station and all the students piled out. It was dark outside and Lily was jostled about as she tried to keep up with Severus, who was leading her over to a gigantic man holding a large lantern. Eyeing the large man warily, she took in his straggly beard and beetle black eyes that on closer inspection were creased in a kind smile. Lily felt her apprehension ebb away as he led all of the first years towards a troop of little boats. She and Severus clambered into one and they were joined by the boy who had given Lily a bar of Cadbury's chocolate. Lily smiled at him as he read their faces anxiously, clearly worried they didn't want him on their boat. The girl from their compartment had found James and the two were debating about something animatedly in their boat; it was obvious that they knew each other well. Sirius and the final of the four boys were talking to one another in the back of the same boat with mischievous looks at the girl which made Lily feel suspicious as the boats began to move._

 _Lily let out a small gasp of wonder as the boats passed through a clump of trees and entered a lake offering them an incredible view of the castle. She grinned with excitement at both Severus and the sickly-looking boy as her mind filled with all the possible things such a vast castle could be filled with._

 _The giant man called for them all to duck, which they did, as to avoid a clump of low hanging branches. And then they were in a small harbour. Everyone climbed out and followed the bearded man up a flight of stairs into the Entrance Hall of the castle. A stern-faced woman with her black hair in a tight bun watched them as they arrived and then accepted the charge of the first years from the large man. She led them into a side chamber and the first years waited with hushed voices._

' _The Sorting Ceremony is a very important event.' she said, her eyes scanning the crowd of 11-year-olds. 'Through this you will be sorted into your House which will be like your family while you are here. There are four houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. Each House is perfectly acceptable,' Her eyes fixed themselves on James, who smirked back at her. 'And will guide you to become outstanding witches and wizards. Now, I suggest you make yourselves presentable while you wait.'_

 _She left and at once talk broke out. All voices seemed to merge into one but Lily looked around for Severus. They had been separated during their walk into the side chamber and now she couldn't see him. The girl from the compartment was stood beside her and Lily took a deep breath._

' _My name's Lily Evans.' she introduced herself with a nervous smile and held out a hand. The girl eyed it for second but then shook her hand._

' _Marlene McKinnon.' the girl replied. Marlene observed Lily for a moment longer and opened her mouth to speak but she was interrupted by a loud, drawling voice._

' _McKinnon, was it?' Sirius swaggered his way over to the two girls. He looked Marlene up and down as a smirk formed on his haughty features. 'Well, well, well.'_

' _Can we help you with something?' Marlene asked in a bored fashion, eying him with apparent disinterest. Lily had stiffened considerably, her apprehension replaced with a rather disgusted expression._

' _I was simply observing what was before me and I thought to myself, that McKinnon girl looks like the kind of girl to have about 6 kids by the time she's 17.' Obvious hurt flashed across Marlene's eyes but she quickly composed herself._

' _And you're hoping to be the fucksack father, I suppose?' she inquired coolly. Lily decided it might take her a while to get used to Marlene's linguistic choices._

' _Not at all. But I'm curious as to who you think with lower their standards enough for someone like you.' Marlene's fist collided with his face. Sirius fell back in shock and pain, knocking into the back of James as he did so. James spun around and his eyes fell on Marlene, who still had her arm outstretched, and then on Sirius, who was gingerly getting to his feet._

' _Marlie? What in the name of Merlin did you do that for?' he cried angrily and Marlene lowered her arm glowering at him also._

' _Oh, that's right! Fucking defend him, why don't you!' she snarled._

' _That was uncalled for!' James retorted gesturing at Sirius, who was quite happily playing innocent. Lily saw red._

' _Leave her alone!' Lily snapped at James, who looked shocked at her entrance to the argument._

' _Mind your own business, Ginger!' James glowered at her but Lily easily matched his livid gaze._

' _Don't talk to her like that!' Marlene growled and then she turned her back on James, pulling Lily with her. 'Wankers.' she muttered as they walked away, letting out a quiet sob, heard only by Lily, under the pretext of a cough._

When Lily awoke, she found the Marauders playing a game of exploding snap, Peter's homework abandoned on a spare seat, and Marlene still hidden behind her magazine. She stretched and stood up, declaring she was going to the toilets and her best friend immediately sprung up to accompany her. The males in the compartment nodded, though their focus was completely on the card game.

'Lily's giving birth to a dragon.' Marlene announced loudly.

'Oh, good…' they murmured as James put down his card and the two girls laughed as they left, entering the corridor.

They made their way along the train, weaving in and out of the students that had chosen to mill in the corridor, creating a maze of sorts for them to navigate their way through. A pair of bored looking Prefects passed them, evidently on patrol, and Lily let out a happy sigh.

'I'm glad 7th year Prefects don't have to patrol the train.' she said to Marlene, who gasped comically.

'But, Lil, patrol's the highlight of your fucking life!' Marlene cried, dramatically flinging an arm around Lily, who nudged her playfully.

'You make me sound so exiting.' she responded with a wry smile. Her best friend let out a loud cackle, giving Lily a small hip bump and did a rather rude hand gesture at Edward, who was leaning against one of the corridor walls.

'You're in the way, wanker.'

'Sorry, McKinnon.' he snapped, though he did move out of the way, and Lily ushered Marlene onwards. They moved quickly down the rest of the train but their progress was impeded when they reached the girls' toilets as a small queue of slightly squirming females had formed. The two cubicles designated for female use were both clearly in use but something that was extremely infuriating was the fact that the boys' toilets had no occupants; Lily and Marlene joined the end of the queue, glancing around to see if there were any males around.

'This is going to take fucking forever!' Marlene grumbled. Mary MacDonald, who had been standing in front of them, turned around, grimacing.

'One of the cubicles has been locked since I got here.' she said to them, gesturing to the further of the two cubicles.

'And how long's that?'

'20 minutes.'

'20 MINUTES?' Marlene burst incredulously. 'Fucking hell!' Lily sighed slightly and then fiddled with her Head girl badge. Then she looked around once more for any sign of male presence and cleared her throat quietly.

'I think using the boys' loos as well might be a good idea.' Lily said audibly to the whole queue.

'Are we allowed?' a blonde-haired 6th year asked, flicking her hair over her shoulder.

'I'm Head girl and I say yes.' Lily responded and it was surprising how much of a difference the extra two cubicles made. The queue shortened steadily and once Lily had taken her turn, she, whilst waiting for Marlene, made sure no one else was around and knocked gently on the door of the cubicle which had been locked since before their arrival. There was no response but she persisted, with a little more insistence. Still silence from behind the cubicle door. 'I'm going to unlock the door.' Lily announced, pulling out her wand. She pointed her wand at the lock and instantly it clicked open to reveal a dark-haired girl standing with her back to the doorway.

Evelyn Pucey turned slowly to face her, her long dark hair hanging like a curtain over her milk white face, her cheeks glistening with damp. Lily's eyes softened as she took in the girl before her and gently placed her hands on her shoulders. As soon as Evelyn felt this contact she lifted her head slightly and stared at Lily with wide, tear-filled eyes. The Head girl carefully guided Evelyn out of the cubicle. Marlene reappeared at that moment and without question she led the way to the nearest compartment, bellowing at the 3rd years inside to clear out. They did so and scurried passed the three older females looking petrified. Lily brought Evelyn inside and helped her sit down while Marlene slammed the compartment door shut and pulled down the blinds. She then took a seat nearest the door and Lily knelt down in front of Evelyn.

And then, the 5th year began to cry.

The tears, which had shown themselves in her eyes for quite some time, began to make their way down her face in great cascades of slightly salty water. She began to tremble with sobs and every so often a wail escaped her lips. Lily and Marlene remained silent, waiting for her to come to a halt of her own accord. Evelyn continued to cry and her fingers clung tightly to the quickly fraying hem of her sleeves, clearly indicating she was in the habit of doing this. Her blue eyes looked like a raging sea with the glistening of tears reflecting the compartment lights shaking with the train as though they where ships attempting to cross the wild ocean.

But after a few minutes, her crying slowly tapered out, leaving her gulping wetly in her seat. She sniffed loudly and Lily produced a tissue on which she blew her nose. Fat tears still clung to her eyelashes but she wiped them away, eyeing her companions with apprehensions.

'D'you want to talk about it?' Lily probed her softly. The question seemed to take Evelyn by surprise, as though she had been expecting Lily to begin making fun of her for weeping. Despite her initial shock, she shook her head firmly and Lily bit her lip nervously. 'I think it would help.' she tried but Evelyn remained silent. The Head girl changed from kneeling to sitting cross-legged on the compartment floor, plaining showing she was there to stay. When Evelyn jerked her head again, Lily's jaw set determinately. 'This is serious, Evie.' Lily said, her voice steady but kind and she looked straight back at Evelyn, who looked as though no one had ever given her a nickname in her life.

'J-Jack Smith.' she whispered, her eyes darting the door like she was expecting the Hufflepuff to swagger in at that very moment. Lily's expression knitted into a frown at the sound of his name before slight comprehension dawned on her face.

'What did he do?' Lily prompted quietly as Evelyn increased the intensity of her sleeve fiddling.

'He w-was just calling me names,' Evelyn mumbled. 'And saying I s-shou-shouldn't be at H-Hogwarts…' She did not continue and Lily leaned back a little, her emerald eyes scanning Evelyn's face as the cogs in her brain rotated faster and faster.

'But this wasn't the first time.' Lily said into the silence and Evelyn bowed her head in response. She didn't speak for a moment and then:

'He always tells me I'm a waste of space!' Tears began to run down her cheeks again but she made no effort to stop them. 'E-everyday! And I just couldn't – couldn't handle it anymore. I wanted it all to stop s-s-so I hid…'

'So you're letting him win?' Marlene's voice sounded from the furthest corner of the compartment. She fixed Evelyn with a hard expression and the 5th year ceased crying at once. 'This Jack Smith sound like a right piece of shit so don't you fucking dare let him get to you!'

'It's not that easy…' Evelyn muttered and Marlene let out a hollow laugh.

'Course it's not fucking easy!' Marlene stood up and folded her arms. 'But one wanker isn't worth hiding in a stinking loo!'

'It's not as if I can just tell myself to not take his comments to heart!' Evelyn too stood up and something seemed to glint in Marlene's dark eyes as they took in the indignant individual before her. Lily too got to her feet and hovered uncertainly in between the two.

'I never said that.' The height difference between the females was quite considerable and Marlene was therefore able to look lazily down at Evelyn. 'What I am saying is that we need to teach that prick a fucking lesson.'

'We?'

'You, me and Lily.' Marlene clarified and Evelyn regarded her suspiciously. 'We women stick together.' Lily smiled reassuringly at Evelyn, though she shot a nervous glance at Marlene, who responded with a small nod of the head.

'Does anyone have any ideas?'

 **Please Review :)**


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: This chapter's got something slightly dark being mentioned but it's brief. I hope you like this chapter and get to know the characters a little better.**

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 **Chapter 27: Admittance**

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Lily and Marlene sat beside one another in their Transfiguration lesson, copying down notes from the black board as Professor McGonagall prowled about the room, handing out their most recent marked piece of homework. James sat beside Remus two rows behind them, with Sirius and Peter at the desk beside theirs, and was throwing scrunched up bits of parchment at Edward's head whenever Professor McGonagall wasn't looking. Sirius and Peter both joined in before too long, Flora Jenkins giggling at her boyfriend's antics and Remus muttering about how they would all get detention as he scribbled on his own parchment. Edward's face grew steadily more and more red, worsening at a much quicker pace once Professor McGonagall had seated herself behind her desk and turned her attention to glowering at her 4th years' essays on transfiguring hedgehogs into pincushions; this action did seem to herald a great influx in flying parchment but when Lily looked over her shoulder, she saw only a classroom full of obediently writing students.

Lily prided herself on being a fast writer and true to this skill she finished her notes before anyone else in the class. Using this time, she ducked down beneath her desk and searched her bag, producing a small pocket watch. It ticked quietly while she straightened herself and, according the clock hands, she had exactly 54 seconds until the end of the lesson and, more importantly, the end of the school day. She briefly glanced at the mark she had received on her homework, her mind on other things, as she silently stowed away her things in her school bag.

A ball of parchment hit her lightly on the head and she caught it just as it fell down her back, turning her head slightly to catch Peter's eye. He nodded and then she glanced at Remus, who did the same mere seconds before the bell rang. There was a great scrambling to pack up belongings and Lily was quick to sling her bag over her shoulder, Marlene grumbling beside her in a low voice about her hand aching. They left the classroom, passing the Marauders quickly, Remus and Peter making quite a fuss of packing their things.

'Marls, I need to talk to you…' Lily mumbled, very obviously fiddling with the sleeve of her robes. 'About… James. Yes! About James.'

'Really?' Marlene's eyes lit up and she eagerly chivvied Lily towards the nearest empty classroom, not noticing the celebratory expression that momentarily crossed her best friend's face. 'Fucking spill!'

'Well… Um… I was thinking – thinking… Um…' Lily shot a glance towards the classroom door. 'You know, just thinking that… I was thinking-'

'You want to shag Potter?' Marlene suggested, completely missing Lily's eyes dart towards the door once more.

'N-no… I was just thinking that maybe I should… You know… I should…' She gestured silently for a moment. 'Flirt with him?' Lily asked lamely, watching the door out of the corner of her eye.

'Can you flirt?' Marlene questioned bluntly.

'Not really.' Lily replied, a faint droop in her expression clearly visible. 'Edward and I didn't do that kind of thing… When we got together the situation was d-different.'

'I could always give you a few tips and you practice on a few blokes – there'll be a Quidditch after party soon.'

'Confident Gryffindor'll win, are we?' Lily quipped, nudging her best friend playfully as her mouth curved into a cheerful smile.

'Course we will!' Marlene climbed onto one of the desks. 'GRYFFINDOR FOR THE WIN! GRYFFINDOR! GR-' She stopped abruptly as the classroom door began opening and wiped around to face it, jumping down onto the floor.

'Moony, how's it my fault the parchment wanted to be thrown?' Sirius voice was whining as the door opened slowly.

'Who are we to deny its wishes?' Peter agreed as the crack between door and door frame widened.

'Besides, McClaggen's a wanker – we were doing society a favour.' James added. Marlene edged towards the wall, like she was hoping to blend into it, and Lily bit back a laugh. The four Marauders stood in the doorway and together Remus and Peter shoved James and Sirius into the room, slamming the door behind them. 'What the fuck're you doing?' James asked in confusion, attempting to open the door so they could hear him. The door refused to budge so he turned to Sirius in bewilderment, suddenly noticing Marlene and Lily's presence. 'Don't worry, ladies. We'll get us out of here.'

'Oh, thank fucking Merlin for that!' Marlene responded dryly, she, Sirius and James all missing Lily's light chuckle.

' _Alohomora!_ ' Sirius commanded smartly but nothing happened. Marlene snorted disdainfully and Lily grinned to herself.

'Let me try.' Marlene snapped, pushing both males roughly out of the way. Lily seated herself on a desk by the far wall which gave her an excellent view of her three companions crowding around the stubbornly locked door. ' _Alohomora._ ' The door remained locked.

'Nice one, McKinnon.' Sirius retorted.

'Because you were so much more fucking successful!'

' _I'll_ try.' James said calmly and stepped forwards, producing his wand out of his back pocket. ' _Alohomora._ ' Nothing.

'Brilliant! Just fucking brilliant – we're locked in here and missing fucking dinner!' Marlene raged at the two boys as though it was their fault.

'Well, what d'you fucking suggest, McKinnon?' Sirius snarled, running a frustrated hand through his hair.

'Arguing's not going to help.' James said, moving between them as Marlene let out a low growl.

'Siding with Black as fucking usual!'

'We could open the windows and summon brooms to fly us out of here or we could vanish the door _or_ we could remove the sticking charm Remus and Peter have placed on the door.' Lily told the three of them happily as James opened his mouth to respond scathingly. 'But,' she began and non-verbally disarmed them, their wands all landing neatly in her lap. 'I think it would be a good idea to talk.' Marlene, Sirius and James all gawped at her but followed the small gesture she did, seating themselves in seats in the centre of the room.

'Talk about what?' James asked uncertainly though Sirius' uncomfortable glance at Marlene and her glower in his direction told Lily that _they_ at least had caught her meaning.

'First year.' Lily informed him brightly, recognition kindling in his hazel eyes. 'And once you've gone to dinner, fourth year too.' Sirius' face turned from discomfort to a scowl as Marlene regarded her best friend with blatant horror. 'So, Marls, if you could start us off.'

'With what?'

'With your side of things.' Lily supplied helpfully and as Marlene put her middle finger up at the Head girl she met by a stern look that could rival Professor McGonagall's.

'Fine.' she grumbled. 'He,' Marlene pointed an accusatory finger in Sirius' direction, 'made some sleazy comment about how many kids I'd have by the time I'm 17 and I punched him because he was being a fucking prick. Then you,' her glare focused on James, 'sided with him and the only help I had was some girl I'd spoken to _once_ over my best mate since I was fucking 3.' Lily observed the two boys, one of which looked guilty and the other shocked. 'And to you, it's always been my fault – always – but him, some bloke you'd met that day, _he_ was all innocent.'

'Why didn't you just tell me instead – instead of blanking me for two years?' James' voice was quiet and Marlene took a deep breath before answering.

'B-because I was hurt!' Her voice cracked slightly. 'Eight years we'd been best mates! Eight fucking years! It hurt that you just forgot that and defended him. You didn't even try to fucking understand what happened!'

'I just-'

'You just thought you knew everything!' Marlene said, shrilly. 'You looked at the scene and decided that Marlene McKinnon punches people for no fucking reason.' She regarded him for a moment, her dark eyes glistening with slight tears. 'YOU KNEW ME!' Marlene suddenly shouted, making everyone else jump slightly. ' _You knew me._ ' she repeated, slumping in her seat. 'And it hurt that you thought I would punch some innocent bloke because I fucking felt like it. You should've know I wouldn't have done it without reason…but you didn't.' She angrily wiped away tears and accepted the tissue Lily handed her, blowing her nose loudly.

'I'm sorry,' James murmured and Marlene's head practically snapped in his direction, her eyes slightly wide.

'I'm sorry too…' Marlene whispered in response. The two looked down at their laps and silence descended upon the room. Lily, however, was not watching them but staring intently at Sirius, who had remained silent throughout the entire exchange. He seemed to sense her gaze and shifted in his seat, running an agitated hand through his hair.

'Listen, McKinnon,' Sirius began and for a moment his grey eyes simply met Marlene's dark ones. 'I should never've said any of that stuff… I didn't mean it – any of it – but somehow, at the time, I wanted to say it. I was 11… What did I know? I'd been raised to was see women as lower than me and… well, I guess I saw you as a threat to that… I'm sorry.' Marlene didn't reply, she just stared at him, her eyes widening further.

Lily pointed her wand at the door and removed the sticking charm that had been cast on it. Then she threw James' wand to its owner, who caught the flying wand instinctively.

'James, you're free to go.' Lily told her fellow Head, who looked as though he wanted to remain for what was to come but Lily gently shook her head with a small, sad smile and, after a few seconds, he jerked his head in a reluctant nod and left. Lily replaced the sticking charm and turned her attention back to Sirius and Marlene, who had remained in complete silence. 'Fourth year.' Lily interrupted the silence and her words seemed to knock the two in front of her out of their slight trance.

'What d'you want me to say?' Sirius asked, his tone of voice a little defensive.

'A fucking apology for a start!' Marlene retorted, her face quickly becoming sour.

'For what? I think if anyone should be fucking apologising it should be you!'

'Oh, that's fucking right!' Marlene replied angrily. 'Sorry for shagging you and forcing you to spread that bullshit rumour about me – yeah, I wanted everyone to think I'm shit at sex so thanks for that!'

'YOU PRETENDED YOU DIDN'T REMEMBER A FUCKING THING!' Sirius roared, getting out of his seat.

'BECAUSE I WAS EMBARRASED!' Marlene yelled back, easily matching his volume, standing up also. 'I'd been a virgin till then and think how I felt waking up the next morning realising I'd shagged fucking Sirius Black, who hates me and I hate back!'

'Well, it hurt! I may've shagged girls a couple of times before but it was still one of my first few times and then y-you just blanked me completely about it!' Sirius replied, stepping closer to Marlene's form, which seemed to be crackling with electricity. 'So, I was angry and I lied to James about it but Alice Prewett overheard and there's no going back once she's got some gossip.'

'I…' Marlene's anger seemed to die as she watched Sirius shrink out of the adrenalin he had just had. He seemed to sink where he stood and Marlene's eyes softened.

'That's the thing about you, McKinnon. You get pissed at James for assuming things but you're just the fucking same…' He turned his head away from her and looked down at the floor, shuffling his feet. A single tear ran down Marlene's cheek. Reaching out a hand, she gently brought his face to face hers again and stroked his cheek slowly with her thumb.

'I'm sorry.' she told him softly. Their lips met a second later and with that, Lily smiled to herself and slid off the desk she'd been sitting on, leaving their wands on it. Silently, she crossed the room and once more removed the sticking charm from the door, slipping from the classroom.

She skipped in the direction of the Great Hall, beaming at Professor McGonagall, who she passed in the Entrance Hall, and seated herself beside James at the Gryffindor table. Merrily, she helped herself to some leek and potato soup and began consuming it with gusto.

'Where're the other two?' James asked her, watching the Head girl seemingly inhale her soup with a great deal of amusement.

'Oh, they'll be coming later.' She checked her pocket watch. 'In about 10 minutes is my guess.' She smiled at him cheerfully and then returned to eating her soup. James marvelled at her for a few moments as she ate but stopped when Remus coughed loudly from opposite him and Peter started snickering. This all went unnoticed by Lily, who, once she had finished eating, began to scan the Hufflepuff table, her emerald eyes coming to rest on a 5th year boy sitting about half way along it. 'How well d'you know Jack Smith?'

'Jack Smith?' James asked in surprise and Lily nodded firmly. 'Not that well… He's a Prefect – you knew that – and on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. Plays Beater I think…'

'Would you say he likes to be thought of as manly?'

'I suppose so.'

'And hates pink?'

'I dunno… Why?'

'Nothing, nothing.' Lily responded and poured herself a goblet full of pumpkin juice. She took a long sip and then smiled up at James, who felt his heart melt slightly. 'I'd better hurry up.' she said after a moment, tearing her gaze away from James as a definite blush crept across her cheeks. 'I've got at least a hundred people who all kissed their crushes over the holidays needing my advice.'

'W-what?' James stuttered, baffled. Lily did not reply but began humming to herself as she finished her meal.

As Lily's predicted 10 minutes arrived, Sirius and Marlene entered the Great Hall, both looking slightly pink and out of breath. James, Remus and Peter all looked at one another and began roaring with laughter; Lily smiled vaguely at the pair of them as they sat down before taking her leave and heading off to the common room to write up the latest Agony Aunt article.

Marlene watched her go with a slightly guilty expression but it changed when she caught sight of James, who had ceased laughing and was watching her walk merrily out of the Hall with a dreamy look all over his face. She snorted quietly and then took her time eating so that by the time she had finished, Remus, Peter and Sirius had all headed back to the common room. James, who had completely zoned out, still sat at the Gryffindor table, jumping in shock when she poked him in the small of the back.

'Fucking hell, McKinnon!' James grumbled, rubbing the spot where she had prodded him.

'I want a word with you, Potter.' she said, glowering at people sitting nearby so that they hastily sidled further down the table and, more importantly, out of earshot.

'But I thought we're good now…' James said, watching her with a confused frown.

'Not about that!' Marlene cried impatiently, waving her hand before her face as though warding away a cloud of midges. 'About Lily!'

'What about her?' James asked, suddenly defensive.

'Well, I thought we'd start with your intentions towards her.' Marlene replied simply, her voice making it quite plain that should James answer this wrong he would suffer greatly regardless of their newfound reconciliation.

'My intentions?' James eyed her nervously. 'I s-suppose my intentions are to date her.' Marlene's expression seemed to be one of approval which boosted James' confidence. 'Dad always treated Mum like royalty and, well, I want to treat Lily like that because she deserves it. I want to be there for her and be someone she can trust.'

'Oh, that's good,' Marlene began, her voice incredibly sugary. 'Because if you hurt her I will rip you apart limb by limb.' She smiled sweetly and James felt strangely indignant despite the slightly terrified feeling now churning about in his stomach.

'Did you give McClaggen this threat as well because that worked wonders?' James inquired and attempted to stop himself gaping at the way Marlene suddenly seemed to deflate.

'No… No, I didn't.' she murmured, her face filling with sudden shame.

'So why do I get this delightful speech? Am I special?' James asked jokingly, hoping to lighten Marlene's unexpected mood change.

'He made Lily smile.' Marlene said, looking pleadingly at James, willing him to comprehend. The receiver of her statement stared back, utterly nonplussed.

'He made Lily smile? Is that it?' James asked blankly.

'Lily's my best mate – I'd do anything to make her smile.' She looked at him imploringly, as though she was desperately explaining why she had committed a heinous crime. James, ever the intelligent one, looked back with a completely lost expression.

'And no one else could've done that?'

'You don't understand!' Marlene burst out abruptly; there were wild tears in her eyes and she looked completely broken. 'Two weeks I stayed at Lily's house after her grandad died. Two fucking weeks! And the only things I heard her say were the phrase on his grave and "Hi, Remus,". She didn't eat a single fucking thing – I've never fucking seen her so fucking skinny – just sat there in silence.' It seemed Marlene had been waiting to confess this to someone for quite some time and tears poured down her cheeks as the guilt she had harboured for so long finally spilled out of her lips. 'I was desperate to see her happy again b-but every day she just got worse and worse… Even after the two weeks, I came round every day with Remus and every time we went passed that fucking wisteria plant she turned completely mad, trying to kick it down, a-and I had to hold her back so – so she wouldn't – she wouldn't…'

James reached out a hand and squeezed Marlene's shaking shoulder. For a little while, Marlene just sobbed into her hands, great waterfalls spilling out of her eyes, her eyelashes coated in tears. Around them, many students turned towards the crying female with curious expressions, though they looked away quickly when Professor McGonagall glowered furiously at them from the staff table like an evil eyed griffin waiting to pounce.

'A-and then one morning,' Marlene continued once she had recovered enough to manage comprehensible words, 'she'd vanished and we all searched for her – even fucking Petunia helped. Remus and I got our parents to put disillusionment charms on us and our brooms so we could fly around looking for her but in every shitting place we looked, she wasn't there. I-it was late when – when we tried Diagon Alley and she was there, waving goodbye to McClaggen, smiling. Fucking smiling! She'd gone t-to buy p-p-p…' Marlene dissolved into more sobs and put her head down on the table, crying. James watched her trembling shoulders, his face filled with concern and understanding. 'She – she'd gone to buy poison in Knockturn Alley s-so she could… McClaggen bumped into her and s-stopped her from…'

'I never knew…' James breathed but Marlene barely heard him.

'So when they started dating, I never – I never told him to stuff it when he was a shit to Lily b-because I felt like I owed him… He saved my best friend and I was just so fucking scared she'd go back to how she was before that I just – just let him walk all over her.' Marlene took a deep breath and fixed James with a fierce glare. 'So, if you dare hurt Lily, I'll – I'll fucking murder you!'

'Marlene, I promise I'll never hurt her – not on purpose anyway.' She studied him for a minute but then nodded in satisfaction.

'All right…' Marlene smiled slightly at him. 'Thank you, James…'

'For what?'

'Listening to me.' she responded and the two childhood friends, so long apart from one another, hugged, warmth filling their hearts and for Marlene it was as though an excruciatingly heavy weight she had carried around for more than a year had, finally, lifted.

 **Please Review :)**


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N:**

* * *

 **Chapter 28: A Surprising Birthday**

* * *

Lily woke on Monday morning and looked blearily around her four-poster for a moment, trying to work out exactly why she had awoken. It was still dark outside, though this told her little of the time, but nevertheless she slid out of bed and headed towards the nearest window. The grounds were silent and still, with no single sign of life disturbing the slowly melting snow. Lily sighed quietly to herself for the melting snow would soon bring two months of incredibly muddy grounds that were difficult to navigate; she looked forward to the rain, however, and the smell it brought, the petrichor. But she would miss the undisturbed white powder and the way the snowflakes tickled her rosy red cheeks, tasting of nothing when she tried to catch them with her tongue but somehow being delicious even so. A single ripple disturbed the black sheen of the Lake and Lily could make out the small outline of a tentacle extending out the water, as though the giant squid was waving to something directly below Gryffindor tower, just out of sight, hidden in the shadows.

A low mist hung just above the ground, brushing gently against the few blades of grass that managed to poke through the thinning snow, making lone trees seem to be cloaked in a sparkling silver garment. A little beyond the fog loomed the faint outline of Hagrid's hut, its lit windows and thin curl of smoke protruding from the chimney causing it to be visible against the black mass that was the Forbidden Forest.

Lily lingered by the window a while longer so that when she turned away, the giant squid had retreated back into the dark sanctuary of the Lake, away from prying eyes. She collected her bag of toiletries and her clean set of uniform, slipping out of the dormitory and heading in the direction of the Prefects' bathroom. The corridors were void of any people, though she did pass the Grey Lady, and as she moved, Lily began to hum and a slight skip appeared in her step. Every conscious portrait she encountered, she waved merrily towards and with a few, who she knew better, she sent a morning greeting in their direction.

When she reached the familiar door with a gilded handle, she leaned towards it and murmured the password _Spearmint_ before being granted entrance. Just as the corridors, the bathroom was absent of any company so Lily was free to choose whichever cubicle she wanted and selected the one nearest to her, putting her things down on the bench inside the first room and then summoning two fluffy towels. Her shower was not particularly long but it wasn't exactly brisk; Lily allowed herself to savour the feeling of pleasantly hot water rushing through her hair and down her body, chasing away any thoughts of the world.

She took her time dressing, drying her deep red hair and applying her makeup, messing around a little with her eyeliner and ending up with two wings in addition to the usual black pigment in her lash line. Her humming progressed to singing and she intoned loudly as she got ready. A whole concert of Elton John's work escaped her lips by the time she was finished and, with a highly elated mood, Lily left the cubicle beaming brightly.

On her way back to Gryffindor Tower, Lily almost crashed into Professor McGonagall as she left her office but she skipped out of her way and smiled happily at her teacher, doing a slight spin to face her, before continuing on her way. The Fat Lady seemed surprised at her elevated spirits but allowed her entrance to the common room nonetheless when she gave the password. Once her things were deposited in the dormitory, Lily collected her school bag and headed down to breakfast. She smiled warmly at the staff table and was met with Professor Slughorn returning it indulgently; Professor Dumbledore's piercing blue eyes twinkled merrily and she smiled at him also before enthusiastically helping herself to some shredded wheat, pouring milk over it once it was in a bowl. As she brought the first mouthful to her lips, three large owls swooped towards her, carrying what appeared to be an entire post office worth of parcels.

A slightly shocked expression crossed Lily's face as the parcels were deposited before her but then she reached towards the nearest envelope, which had been tapped to an oddly shaped package.

 _Dear Lily,_

 _HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY FAVOURITE RED HEAD! How does it feel to be 18? Old? Wise? I tell you who wasn't wise – your bloody parents. Apparently, sending all the presents together was cheaper which is why you've got a whole tonne of presents all at once. Now, I pride myself in being pretty good at maths doing my maths degree and everything so I'm sure my addition skills are alright. What I'm trying to say is that there is no way sending a giant menagerie of presents to Scotland is cheaper than us sending them separately. They always do that though, Aunt Charlotte and Uncle Will I mean. I don't actually know your address so I have to send my letters to you to them first... Maybe your whole boarding school's actually fake and you're actually like a spy in training or something! I could see you secretly being a witch…_

 _Anyway, I got a bit side-tracked there so I'll get on with the rest of the birthday stuff. I hope you love your presents and use the smaller one responsibly! Don't do anything I wouldn't do!_

 _Love,_

 _Harry_

An amused smile formed on her face and she eagerly tore off the wrapping paper of the smaller of the two presents to reveal a bottle of vodka. Lily hastily stored it away in her bag, a laugh bubbling out of her, and then opened the larger, lumpier one; it turned out to be a cosy emerald green jumper and had Lily not been facing a full school day later, she would have pulled the oversized garment over her head. Her next present and envelope compilation was from her parents and, after slicing open the envelope with a severing charm, she noted there were in fact two letters inside. She removed the top one first and opened it to see her mother's neat handwriting intercepted on occasion by her father's casual script.

 _Dear Lily,_

 _Happy birthday! You're a fully-grown woman now and not our baby anymore._ _ **I'll still pull the scary dad card though when you next bring James round – don't think you can hide that from me young lady just because you're at boarding school! I saw you two together at New Years…**_ _That does make me a little sad but I know that you'll be a wonderful young woman. Thank you for your last letter and I'm sure that St Mungo's is a very good place to work but make sure you're not just doing it because you think you have to. I was a secretary for many years because all my friends were and I knew from the start it wasn't for me. Luckily, my boss noticed my people skills and he had me moved to the business department. That's where your father and I met in fact; he was in the accountant department at the same firm._ _ **Please don't share that story – Lottie please!**_ _Your father mistook me for being the new receptionist and when I told him I wasn't he got all flustered and accidently spilled his coffee all over my new shoes. I pretended to be incredibly offended and whenever I saw him about the building for an entire month I would do a rather rude hand gesture at him._ _ **That was cruel, Lottie, really cruel. Lily, never do that to James; the poor bloke will have a heart attack and I'd like grandkids.**_ _Lily ignore your father but that does bring me to something else you mentioned in your letter. James is a sweet boy and your father and I are both very fond of him and I think he cares about you very much. In terms of grandchildren, the subject courtesy of your father, don't feel under any pressure to be in relationship or anything but I'm sure you know that already. We both love you very much and we'd never want you to rush into something._

 _Before I sign off, I want you to promise me you won't read the other letter in this envelope until this evening._ _ **Or wait until tomorrow once your birthday's over.**_ _Promise me, Lily. Promise me._

 _Love,_

 _Mum_ _ **and Dad**_

Lily frowned slightly but she followed her mother's words and left the envelope, turning her attention to their present. It was a small wooden box with an engraved pattern along the edge of the lid and she opened it carefully. The inside was lined with a deep blue satin and in the middle rested a delicate gold necklace that's charm was a witch riding on a broomstick. Lily grinned, lifting up the necklace and putting it around her neck, the gold exactly matching the bracelet James had given her for Christmas, which she wore around her wrist on a daily basis. The rest of her parcels comprised of presents from the rest of her relatives, their gifts ranging from clothing to makeup to a series of crime novels that had a guide to spotting the Russian Mafia taped to it.

After finishing her breakfast, Lily levitated her plethora of presents and birthday cards in front of her all the way to the Gryffindor girls' dormitory and quietly placed them in her wardrobe as all her roommates were still asleep, except Marlene, who could be heard cursing the sink in the bathroom after she had seemingly stubbed her toe on it. Lily grinned to herself and sat down on her bed, pulling towards her the nearest book, allowing to absorb herself in it and completely missing Marlene sneak past her down into the common room.

Half an hour later and Lily decided she might head to the library considering it was still exceptionally early and she had time to waste so she stood up and crossed the dormitory. Slowly, she descended the girls' staircase feeling strangely down trodden though as to why she had no idea. As this emotion emerged, a sudden desire to be invisible also struck her and she hesitated on the stairs, wondering if perhaps she shouldn't go to the library after all. Her spontaneous melancholy swirled about in her head as she determinately trudged into the common room thinking about her lessons that day and being unable to gather any enthusiasm. She still needed to draw up her revision timetable, her exams were in May after all, and with that thought her shoulders slumped slightly, knowing that revision would be the word on her teachers' lips in regards to homework from now on.

'HAPPY BIRTHDAY!' five voices chorused, jumping out from behind the large red sofa by the fire and causing Lily's heart to leap into her throat. She took a moment to recover, her shock evident on her wide eyed face, and observed the five individuals before her, all grinning like idiots.

'T-thank you.' Lily managed to stammer, her heart hammering faster than usual. They all produced presents from behind their backs and gestured for her to sit down on the sofa they'd been hiding behind. She sat down speechlessly and tried to smile, a difficult feat considering her entire body had flipped into survival mode when she'd been sprung at by her present company. Remus and Marlene flopped down either side of her on the sofa while James, Sirius and Peter settled on the floor, still grinning.

'How does it feel to join the club of 18-year-olds?' Sirius asked, handing her his clumsily wrapped present.

'Wicked.' Lily responded with a slight laugh and tore off the wrapping paper.

'Good to know she respects your wrapping skills, Pads.' James observed, thumping Sirius on the back.

'Hey, hey!' Peter reprimanded and then smirked. 'Respect your elders!'

'Yeah!' Sirius agreed, pouting and elbowing James. Marlene, Remus and Lily all shared an eye roll, shaking their heads despairingly. Lily looked down at her unwrapped present and saw Sirius had given her a snow globe that, it transpired, transfigured the scene inside the glass into whatever you wanted. It was rather beautiful and Lily hugged him delightedly. Peter gave her the world's largest selection of succulent chocolate, he too earned a hug, Marlene presented her with a stunning pair of stilettoes and Remus gifted her a collection of books titled _The Foundation Trilogy_ as well as a new knitted blue scarf, hat and gloves. She hugged both Marlene and Remus tightly and then accepted the gift James held out.

It was a rectangular shape and incredibly heavy, revealing itself to be an ancient potions book when Lily unwrapped it. She was silent, tracing her finger along the edge of the front cover, and while she did this, Marlene sent a glower at James as though accusing him of being a complete failure.

'It's beautiful, James… Thank you.' Lily said quietly and went to hug him. Somehow hugging James resulted in her having cheeks that burned scarlet and she hastily let go so that their hug lasted a much shorter amount of time than any of the others. 'Yes… Well… I…'

'I'm fucking starving!' Marlene announced loudly. 'Breakfast?' She was met with four eager nods and Lily mumbled something incoherent about putting her presents away before hurrying back to the safety of the girls' dormitory.

* * *

The evening arrived and Lily was glad of an excuse to cease pouring over the many letters sent to _Dear Cat_ about whether or not to send a Valentine's card to that specific person's supposed true love. She stretched in a rather feline like manner and then stood up from behind her desk in the Head office. The room was absent of any human life other than her and the only sound came from the crackling fire, where Nigel was curled up enjoying its warmth. Feeling about in her robe pocket, Lily pulled out the envelope from her parents and this time removed the second letter. It was much briefer than the first one and its message did certainly not contain birthday greetings.

 _Dear Lily,_

 _I hope you listened to me and didn't open this until evening because this letter brings sad news. Petunia suffered a miscarriage last night and she's currently in hospital. She's alright physically but devastated, of course. I hope you understand why she hasn't written to you herself like she normally would and I know she would appreciate if you perhaps wrote to her._

 _Love,_

 _Mum_

Lily stared at the letter in her hand, her fingers trembling slightly. There was a state of shock about her because something like this happening to her elder sister had always seemed impossible. Petunia, her own sister, had lost a child – the words were there, right on the paper in Lily's grasp, but somehow she couldn't bring herself to believe them. They were not true. They could not be true. Her mother was lying. But she failed to persuade herself of her mother's falsehood, simply standing frozen, shock still swimming around her.

The twilight period had already begun by the time Lily began making her way back to Gryffindor Tower and the only sounds accompanying her journey were the light snores of the sleeping portraits lining the walls around her and the soft tapping of her black pumps against the cold stone floor. Although it was incredibly late and no other person wandered about the school, she was conscious to draw as little attention to her herself as possible for the chance she might come across Filch was still relatively high. She flitted between the varying shadows cast by suits of armour, using night's cloak to hide her from unwanted eyes. It was almost as though she had began a dance in the way she darted from shadow to shadow, her shoulders tense as though poised to pounce, flanked by the slinking ginger tabby cat, who played as her partner.

But on the second floor, this waltz ceased as something disturbed her; the definite thud of a body against a wall disrupted her jaunt and she spun around, her wand out steady before her. It was not Filch who had made the noise but an adolescent boy with dark hair and a face that could perhaps have been handsome if he hadn't been swearing in pain. At first, Lily thought him to be cursing due to the fact he had collided with a rather solid stone wall and she moved towards him, concern evident on her face. However, as she stepped closer, she noted he was in fact clutching his left arm, which had not most certainly not come in contact with the wall.

'Are you alright?' she whispered and the boy leapt up in shock and sudden anger. Evidently, he had not noticed her presence earlier. As he straightened up, Lily recognised him to be Sirius' younger brother Regulus and her concern seemed to double.

'Get away from me, Mudblood!' he snarled back. Lily did not even blink and simply took another step forwards.

'Are you alright?' Lily repeated, reaching out to bring his arm towards her so she could examine it. Regulus recoiled but did not move away as his arm appeared to sear with pain after his movements.

'Fuck!' he cursed through gritted teeth, grasping at his arm, clearly in agony. 'Don't you dare touch me, Mudblood!' he added as Lily's fingers closed around the hem of his left sleeve, her fingers just coming in contact with his pale hand. She did not respond, carefully rolling back the black fabric and scanning her eyes over the revealed skin. Regulus attempted to wrench his arm back but Lily's grip on his sleeve was too strong.

'I'm not going to hurt you.' she murmured so that he only just about heard her. Something about her softly spoken voice ceased his struggling and his arm went limp as he waited for her to continue rolling back his sleeve. He could not see her face, dark red tendrils of hair had fallen across it, but he did hear the almost silent intake of breath she made as she let go of the sleeve and gently held up his arm. 'They brand you…' Lily whispered, her voice filled with horror as her emerald eyes took in the exposed forearm.

The Dark Mark on his arm was surrounded by red and inflamed skin that was scabby with the occasional puss-filled sore; the Mark was hideous in itself, the skull leering up at her and the serpent tongue slithering around in a labyrinthine pattern. Lightly, Lily rolled Regulus' sleeve back down and then she gestured for him to follow her. They moved in absolute silence, down in the direction of the dungeons, Regulus keeping his swearing internal as they neared Filch's office. Creeping down the steps, Lily opened the door to Dungeon 12 and Regulus entered first, seating himself imperiously on one of the work tables.

Lily shut the door and lit the torches lining the walls with her wand before turning to the student store cupboard and searching it. She pulled out numerous ingredients and summoned a cauldron towards her. Using her wand, she caused a small fire to crackle beneath the cauldron and then set about adding ingredients to it, weighing them in her hand and then tipping them inside. About 10 minutes later and she vanished the flames, bringing the cauldron over to where Regulus still sat watching her beadily.

'And what is that?' he asked in disgust, eyeing the contents of the cauldron suspiciously. Lily smiled back at him and set the cauldron down on the table.

'It's Murtlap Essence.' Lily responded. 'It should help the pain.'

'If this is a joke, Mudblood, I will not hesitate to Crucio you!' Regulus hissed but nevertheless rolled up his sleeve and lowered his arm into the cauldron. It was obvious that his pain stopped as soon as the Dark Mark was completely covered because his face visibly relaxed. Lily hummed to herself, sitting down on the work table opposite him. 'You're either mad or stupid, Mudblood, and I'm not sure which one's worse.' he sneered.

Lily chuckled lightly and then continued to hum, closing her eyes as she did so. Regulus watched her with a strange expression, surprised by her act of kindness despite knowing what he was.

 **Please Review :)**


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: Welcome back! Did you have a good Easter? I hope so and I hope you like this chapter too! It's much more lighthearted - I feel like we all deserve a bit of cheer after the more serious chapters.**

 **Enjoy :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 29: Valentine's Day**

* * *

'Remind me why we're doing this and not the fucking Prefects.' Marlene grumbled as she attached a pink paper heart to the wall with a piece of Spello-tape.

'Because it's meant to be a _whole_ school surprise.' Lily explained for what seemed like the hundredth time that day and stuck a red heart right beside the pink one.

'Except me, you and the Marauders?' The two girls glanced over their shoulder at where the four males were having a fight with the silver and pink glitter left over from covering the paper hearts in the sparkling substance. 'Can't we just let them do the fucking rest? D'you know how much arm hair I've sacrificed to this ruddy Spello-tape? Look!' She waved her arm in Lily's face and her best friend rolled her eyes.

'Yes, yes, you've been very brave.' Lily replied and patted her on the back. 'Besides the Professors know all about it.' Marlene elbowed her and for a moment they fell into silence, sticking more paper hearts onto the stone wall. They could hear the Marauders chasing one another around the Great Hall and exchanged an exasperated look.

'I think they should finish this as a fucking punishment for fucking about.' Marlene said, stepping back to admire the two best friends' handiwork.

'We can't risk them rigging in a prank.' Lily reminded her. 'We need as little mayhem as possible, remember.' They sent a furtive look towards their male companions and then grinned at one another. The Marauders noticed nothing, all too focused on the fact that Sirius was being cornered by the other three, fists of glitter at the ready.

'Have you sent your application to St Mungo's yet?' Marlene asked, changing topic as Sirius was forced into the corner nearest to them.

'I sent it yesterday.' Lily moved in line with her and they both tilted their heads, observing the paper heart arrangement on the wall. 'Have you sent yours to the Daily Prophet?'

'I'm doing it tonight.' she responded. 'You know, we should start looking at flats soon.' Marlene added thoughtfully.

'I'll write to Gringotts for my account balance.' Lily said, nodding in agreement. 'I've saved a lot since we started se-' Marlene trod on her foot and jerked her head at the Marauders, who were causing a cloud of glitter to hover above them with their relentless feud. 'Oops.' Lily smiled sheepishly and summoned a box of ribbons towards them. 'But we have to look at our budget. I think we'll be able to get a two-bed easily.'

The existence of Lily's vault at Gringotts was not known to her parents as she had never told them. They had always favoured giving Lily Muggle money to convert over the idea of establishing a vault to store Wizarding currency in but when Lily had turned of age in the Wizarding world, she had taken it upon herself to get a vault at the bank to store the galleons, sickles and knuts she had… accumulated over the years; Marlene had previously let her put the money in her personal vault but Lily was glad of having her own one as the two girls' savings from their endeavours had expanded quite a bit since they had first begun saving.

The best friends did, of course, intend to move in together after their school career ended and be roommates; this had been their plan since 4th year, which incidentally was also when they began _saving_.

Sirius broke free of his fellow Marauders and sprinted past the two females, pinching Marlene on the bottom and dumping glitter in her hair as he did so; his girlfriend let out an indignant roar and chased after him, flanked by James, Remus and Peter so that the four of them made a rhombus shape as they pelted about the Great Hall. Lily shook her head despairingly and placed sticking charms on the ribbons before levitating them upwards. She flicked her wand and the ribbons all flew across the Hall and decorated each of the walls with pink, silver and red.

The other Gryffindors continued to run about the Hall but Lily decided against joining in, choosing instead to carry on decorating with the appearance of one waving a conductor's baton whilst her feet seemingly engaged in a strange and wonderful dance as she enchanted decoration after decoration into its place. She hummed to herself, lightly dancing out of the way of Sirius as he hurtled passed, closely followed by his determined herd of predators. James stopped running and began to watch in wonder as Lily bewitched a trail of floating silver lights to move into a conga line and then charmed a collection of glass cherub figurines to tap dance into place while she hummed.

Her eyes lit up slightly so that her emerald eyes seemed to sparkle just as much as the glitter that now filled the air. James stood there, entranced by her carefree beauty, and didn't even notice Peter sprinkle some bright pink glitter into his hair. She flicked her gaze in his direction and realised he was watching her, freezing and turning rather flushed. The two faced one another, one looking incredibly dazed and the other resembling a ripe tomato.

'OI, PR-' Sirius began to yell but was cut off when Marlene kneed him in a sensitive area and Remus threw his fistful of glitter into his open mouth. He fell to the floor, spluttering and clutching himself in agony, and his two attackers high fived merrily.

'How long d'you reckon?' Marlene asked Remus in an undertone, indicating her head towards Lily and James; Peter was adding more and more glitter to James' hair so that he was starting to resemble a very stunned Christmas tree.

'A week.' Sirius gasped from the floor, his eyes beginning to water due to his pain. 'Fucking hell, Marlene!'

'Oh, quiet you!' Marlene responded with a dismissive hand. 'One week?' she added sceptically. 'I'm going with 8 days.' Sirius let out an indignant grunt and Remus grinned to himself. 'Remus?'

'Hm…' Remus fell silent for a moment and then straightened his jumper. '10 days.'

'We making a bet of this?' Peter piped up as he neared them, having run out of glitter to pile of James' head. 'I'm going for 7 and a ½ personally.'

'I'm up for a bet.' Marlene nodded enthusiastically and both Sirius and Remus wore identical expressions of mischief. 'What about 5 galleons?'

'I hope you four are not planning on breaking school rules and gambling.' a stern voice had joined the conversation and the four 7th years jumped in shock, Sirius letting out a cry of pain after doing so. Professor McGonagall regarded them all with a raised eyebrow and at the sight of Sirius on the floor, her thin lips curved slightly upwards.

'But, Professor, it's about James and Lily – surely that calls for an exception.' Marlene asked hopefully.

'Miss McKinnon, the fact that the bet is about the Head boy and girl hardly helps the matter.'

'Go on, Minnie.' Sirius whined from the floor. 'How long d'you think till they get together?' Professor McGonagall glowered at them for about a minute before speaking.

'8 days and 18 hours from the start of Valentine's Day.' she announced and then produced a few gold coins from the pocket of her velvet robes. 'It was 5 galleons I believe.'

* * *

Tuesday the 14th of February dawned the next morning with a rather grey sky that did not reflect the overall feelings of affection oozing from the auras of giggling girls and incredibly nervous males, though some of them still snored loudly in their four-poster beds. Lily and Marlene, however, were already up and chatting happily as they made their way down to breakfast, waving energetically at Evelyn Pucey upon their arrival. She waved back and the three of them shared a significant look before Evelyn turned her attention to that morning's Daily Prophet and Lily sat down at the Gryffindor table, Marlene mirroring her movements.

Although completely engrossed in their conversation about Wit-Sharpening Potions, both Lily and Marlene kept glancing towards the double doors into the Great Hall. Lily helped herself to a bacon sarnie and bit into it cheerfully as she overheard a pair of 6th years admiring the Valentine's day decorations. Further along the table, Alice Prewett was gazing adoringly at her boyfriend, Frank Longbottom, while he recited a story about his parents on this very day a few years prior that must have been hilarious as mere seconds later and the two were in hysterics.

Once Lily had finished her roll, she fished around in her school bag for her Defence Against the Dark Arts homework, which she started reading over while Marlene muttered a variety of curses directed at her Divination teacher, Professor Quinn, who had just seated himself at the staff table. Marlene spooned a mouthful of cereal into her mouth in an incredibly angry manner and then glowered in the direction of the doors into the Great Hall as the Marauders strolled through them. She held a card in her hand and practically threw it at Sirius when he sat down beside her, leaning over to kiss her on the cheek. Sirius did not seem fazed by the flying card and caught it expertly before producing a bunch of flowers and handing it to her.

'Thanks.' mumbled Marlene, who turned incredibly red. Lily grinned into her essay and coughed lightly. 'Stop it, Lil! I can feel you fucking smiling!'

'I wasn't doing anything.' Lily defended innocently and glanced towards the Hufflepuff table. Whatever she was looking for wasn't there so she smiled vaguely at the Marauders before returning to reviewing her homework. She finished reading it after a few minutes and replaced it in her bag, pulling out an open envelope instead, which she handed to Remus. 'You should write a card for Emmeline.'

'What makes you think I should do that?' Remus asked in a high-pitched voice, turning pink.

'It was just an idea…' Lily replied nonchalantly and then waved at Peter, who was leaving the table to go sit with his girlfriend, Flora Jenkins, a box of chocolates in hand. 'James, I ha-'

'L-Lily,' a timid voice sounded behind her and she started before turning around so quickly she got a crick in her neck. Rubbing it fiercely, she looked up at Stewart Andrews, who stood before her, clutching a posy of sweet peas in his right hand and a pink envelope in his left hand. 'Happy Valentine's day!' he declared abruptly and thrust the flowers into her face as his nerves caught up with him.

'These are lovely, Stewart.' Lily complimented, accepting the flowers and smiling at him as Marlene stood on Sirius' foot to stop him interrupting. Stewart then held out a the violently pink card, which Lily took cheerfully. 'Thank you… Happy Valentine's day to you too…'

Stewart beamed and left to join his friends further along the table, all of which clapped him on the shoulders in congratulations. Sirius couldn't contain himself; he let out a howl of laughter and banged his fist on the table as his chortles continued. Remus and Marlene exchanged a look but James was watching Lily with a strange expression. He seemed to be desperately analysing her reaction and when she looked in his direction, his cheeks reddened visibly. The uncertain smile Lily sent towards him didn't help and he hastily busied himself with buttering a crumpet. Lily's expression drooped slightly.

She didn't have long to dwell on his reaction as the post owls arrived, raining letters all about the Great Hall. A large collection of suspiciously red and pink envelopes landed in front of James and Lily laughed as he began eying them warily. To her own surprise, two envelopes were delivered into her lap and though the first one was from Edward, evoking feelings of discomfort, the second brought an incredibly happy wave of emotions. It read:

 _Dear Mudblood,_

 _This isn't a love letter if that's what you're thinking and I wouldn't put it passed you to think that. I'm sending this on this infernal day because I figured it wouldn't be suspicious for you to receive a letter today. This letter is not a thank you for the Murtlap Essence but an acknowledgement of what you did. There you have it then: I accept you helped my arm._

 _I will not be so indulgent should you let it slip as to what was on my arm but something tells me you at least have the brains to keep your mouth shut on that front. The absence of being summoned to Dumbledore's office gives me confidence that you do in fact have some form of sense and let's keep it that way._

 _Enjoy your torturous day of declaring love for your supposed loved ones._

 _R.A.B_

Lily grinned widely and put away the card in her school bag, vanishing the one from Edward once she had done so. James had started reading his way through his vividly coloured fan mail, an involuntary shiver of disgust occurring each time he picked up a new one, and Remus sat beside him writing carefully on the card Lily had given him. She observed the two of them, still grinning, for a while and then glanced towards the Hufflepuff table.

Jack Smith sat in a crowd of his friends, all of them laughing loudly at the couples around them, and Lily's eyebrow began to raise themselves as a slight smirk replaced her grin. She elbowed Marlene, who had been snoozing on Sirius' chest, in the ribs and her best friend practically leapt to attention. Lily tilted her head in the direction of the Hufflepuff table. Marlene's face formed an evil smirk and then she and Lily nodded at Evelyn, who bowed her head in response.

Glowing pink hearts began to rain down from the enchanted ceiling, though only over the head of a specific Hufflepuff; he didn't notice, however, as he was too busy in his activity of throwing hash browns at the couple nearest to him. The hearts reached him and he let out an undignified shriek as their surface made contact with his skin. Then they crumbled, covering him in a yellow-tinted powdery substance so that he resembled someone with a rather terrible case of dandruff. A few seconds passed where he attempted to brush off all the powder on his person before he began itching uncontrollably much to the delight of the many students who had turned to watch.

While he scratched at himself, the suits of armour in the Great Hall danced towards him and began to sing in terribly passionate voices, their vizors clanking loudly. Their hands clasped at their chests as they crowded around the frantically itching Jack Smith.

 _You and I must make a pact  
We must bring salvation back  
Where there is love, I'll be there (I'll be there)_

 _I'll reach out my hand to you  
I'll have faith in all you do  
Just call my name and I'll be there (I'll be there)_

 _I'll be there to comfort you  
Build my world of dreams around you  
I'm so glad that I found you_

 _I'll be there with a love that's strong  
I'll be your strength  
I'll keep holdin' on (holdin' on)  
Yes I will, yes I will_

The giggles and laughter erupting all over the Great Hall were strangely synchronised and Marlene clutched Sirius as she howled. He too was snorting loudly and Remus and James were quick to join in. Lily sent a wink in Evelyn's direction and the Slytherin grinned back, raising her goblet of pumpkin juice at the Head girl. She nodded and then stood up with her school bag over her shoulder, seamlessly placing an envelope atop the pile from James' admirers before humming to herself and leaving the Hall in high spirits.

When everyone had finally stopped laughing, talk began to break out everywhere once more and while Remus levitated a card discreetly onto Emmeline Vance's lap, James returned his attention to his fan mail. He picked up the top one and looked at it unenthusiastically. Ripping the envelope open, he glanced at the cover of the card which depicted a doe and a stag that had been enchanted to chase one another all over the front. A frown creased his forehead as he opened the card.

 _Dear James,_

 _Happy Valentine's day! I thought today would be the perfect day to admit this to you and by card so I don't have to mumble this to you in person and you miss my entirely heartfelt speech. It's quite likely you've already guessed what I'm about to tell you but just in case I'll write it now. I like you, James, and as more than just a friend. Whether you feel the same or not doesn't matter but I think you have a right to know something like that._

 _Love,_

 _Lily_

 _P.S In answer to your question at Christmas; yes, I do know your Animagus form._

* * *

Lily stood in her Potions classroom while above her, in the Great Hall, dinner was in full swing. She was bent over a simmering potion that had a mother of pearl sheen to it, reflecting the lit torch brackets all around the dungeon. Professor Slughorn sat comfortably behind his desk tucking into a plate of steak and kidney pie as he marked the essays handed in by his 3rd year pupils. Every so often he would watch with interest as Lily worked on her potion and now that she was almost finished, he had put down his quill and was only eating while he observed his favourite student.

She stirred to concoction once and instantly steam began to rise in beautiful spirals. Professor Slughorn chuckled lightly as he saw her hastily pinch her nose and made a mental note to mention the scene before him to Lily's Head of House. Lily, with her nose still pinched tight shut, walked around her cauldron, writing down observations and making notes as to the potion's consistency when she ladled some towards her.

'Lily, my dear, the aroma of Amortentia is vital to its characteristics.' Professor Slughorn said from his side of the room. She turned to face him and nodded but did not remove her hand from her nose. 'You may wish to mention what you can smell if you want an Outstanding mark.'

'Yes, Professor.' Lily mumbled and took a deep breath before letting go of her nose. She exhaled and then inhaled the fumes radiating from her cauldron; they were just as she remembered them: Cadbury's milk chocolate, the mind warming smell that clung to ancient books and the smell of the earth just after it had rained. The latter was still the strongest of all the three fragrances and a look of great contentment spread across Lily's face as she placed the lid on the cauldron because at last she understood why.

 **Please Review :)**

 **If you smelled Amortentia, what do you think you'd smell? I think I'd definitely smell chocolate and maybe freshly baked bread.**


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N: Did you enjoy Valentine's Day in Jily land. I hope so. Personally, I'm more of a fan of the chocolate on Valentine's Day than the cards and all that but each to their own I guess.**

* * *

 **Chapter 30: Rain**

* * *

The sky had resembled a frothing witch's cauldron all day with wisps of grey cloud drifting lazily across it to create a cloak, sheltering it from the brutal duo that was thunder and lightning despite its own acidic quality. Lightning darted across the sky as though it were masquerading as a herd of skittish deer fleeing from a gunshot, its mocking performance accompanied by the jeers of the thunder that reverberated around the deserted school grounds in low, gruff belches. The wind joined in as a chorus of howling laughter that swirled about the depths of the cauldron sky, teasingly disrupting pockets of the smooth cloud cape, nibbling away at it like a sharp-toothed shrew gnawing at a piece of corn.

Lily had stepped out into the storm as soon as she had finished her homework for the day, her hood pulled tightly over her head and her entire body covered in water repelling charms as a cascade of water spilled over the edge of the bubbling cauldron above her. Marlene had watched her go with worry but said nothing to anyone except Remus about her best friend's journey into the Inferno outside; the two had decided against following her for the time being and ever since had been constantly looking to the window of Gryffindor Tower in some kind of mad hope that Lily would materialise there. Inside Lily's black robes, a squirming bundle clung to her chest, mewing indignantly at being brought outside but being too terrified to leave the warmth of the fabric. She battled her way along the shore of the lake to a small log that was protected by a collection oak trees, currently all huddled together because of the gale.

As she sat down on the log and cuddled Nigel close to her, Lily's eyes began to glisten with tears and she blinked a little more than was natural determinately regarding a blade of grass near her feet that shivered in the current of air that sliced passed her ankles. The water in the Lake lapped indignantly against its banks as the wind forced its movement and Lily turned to face it, a light smile forming across her saddened face.

The thunder it seemed had shouted itself hoarse for it stopped roaring and its companion, sensing the thunder's defeat, vanished in a dramatic throwing of sparks. As soon as the pair left, Nigel wriggled free of Lily's grip and began to slink his way back to the castle. So eager was he in his pursuit of warmth that he failed to notice a large cluster rocks and he collided with them as Lily let out a loud shout.

'Nig!' She splashed her way across the muddy ground to where the ginger cat lay motionless. Hastily, she produced her wand and healed the large cut that had appeared on his face, rocking him gently as she did so. She revived him with magic and he let out a grumpy mew as he stretched. Lily hugged him close and he licked her ear affectionately. She eventually let go and replaced him on the ground to which he immediately began to head towards the castle. 'No crashing into rocks, yeah?' she called after him and he stalked off, leaving Lily with a slight grin in place.

She looked out across the Lake and admired its smooth black sheen, glancing down to see a small fluffy brown mouse scurrying along the shore. Lily watched the mouse go and adjusted her hold on a crumpled piece of paper she'd been clutching in her wand hand. The trees nearest to her waved merrily at the body of water beside them as a gust of wind ruffled their leaves and Lily observed the dark shadow of the giant squid nearing the surface.

'Lily?' a voice said behind her but she didn't hear them; she was so focused on the scene before her. James stood nervously a step or so back and ran a nervous hand through his chaotically arranged hair. 'Lily?'

He received no response for Lily had knelt down beside the shore and was tracing a single finger through the dark water.

'You looked upset earlier… You okay?' James asked tentatively but Lily either still didn't notice him or chose not to know of his existence. 'Listen, Lily, about the Valentine's card… I-I should've given you one as well but didn't know if you felt the same and I didn't want to risk ruining the relationship we have. I know that makes me a coward but Lily I do feel the same way! I've liked you for years a-and you've no idea how much you mess me up when you smile. You're the most perfect person I've ever met and you just don't see it but in a way that just makes you more beautiful. You're always so kind and you have this way of making everyone feel better. I don't think I've ever met someone who can just walk into a room and make everything seem alright but you can and I think you're amazing and beautiful and funny and kind a-and I…'

Lily still said nothing. She replaced her wand in her pocket and placed the crumpled paper she'd been holding in the water, watching it absorb the liquid slowly but steadily.

'Lily… Speak to me… Scream at me if you want… Just something… Anything!' James' features grew impatient. 'SAY SOMETHING! P-please… because – because your silence hurts.' He reached out a hand and placed it gently on hers. To his surprise, she started and regarded him with wide eyes.

'James!' Lily gasped and brought her free hand to her heart. 'You scared me! How long have you been there for?' She smiled slightly at him and he frowned at her.

'What d'you mean? I've been talking to you…'

'Oh, sorry, I didn't realise you were there. I was just thinking.'

'A woman thinking? That's dangerous.' Lily nudged him playfully and the two looked at one another for a while during which the rain began to fall once more. 'Well, go on then, what were you thinking about?' Lily was silent for a moment, tearing her gaze away from James' hazel eyes and directed it back towards the Lake.

'Can I ask you a question, James?' Lily murmured, her cold hand in James' large warm one.

'Go for it.'

'Is-is it possible to cause a miscarriage by accident – with magic that is?'

'Miscarriage? You weren't – McClaggen didn't –' James' eyes were filled with fire and he made as though to stride back towards the castle by Lily continued to hold onto his hand and he felt himself calm considerably.

'No! Not me – my sister, she had a miscarriage just after Christmas and she wrote to me today.' Lily indicated to the water-soaked piece of paper that was disintegrating in the Lake. 'She said it was my fault - that I'd cursed her baby - a-and I don't remember doing it - but maybe being around magic can affect a Muggle baby... I know that sounds stupid but you never know...'

'Of course it's stupid, Lily and you know it!' James said almost angrily and he turned her head to face him. Her emerald eyes sparkled with tears but her smile was a happy one as she regarded his face. Raindrops fell lightly on her cheeks so it looked as though the rain was crying for her.

'I associate you with the rain.' Lily informed James, stepping a little closer to him.

'Really?' James said, his face clearly indicating he did not understand.

'I smell petrichor in Amortentia because of you – because I have memories with you in the rain like – like at Petunia's wedding when we danced in the rain.' Her cheeks turned pink but James grinned.

'Bloody Amortentia again!' he laughed, closing the small gap between them so that their faces were inches apart. 'First with Sirius and Marlene. Now us too!'

'You too?'

'I dunno if I want to admit this; yours was so much deeper than this is going to be.' Lily mirrored his grin and chuckled quietly. 'Fine… I can smell your perfume. As soon as my potion produced a mix of jasmine and pear, I knew it was yours. See? Not that exciting.'

'I feel flattered that you remembered what it smells like. I don't always remember.' James pressed his forehead against hers and Lily grinned wider as his arms hugged her into his muscular form.

'Lily…' he whispered huskily. 'I really really think I might love you.'

'Do you _really really_ think so?' Lily replied with a smirk.

'Oh, shut up!' James huffed while she laughed.

'Oh, James…' Lily said softly and stroke his cheek with her thumb. Then she closed her eyes and, with a deep steady breath, gently brought her lips up to his. Lily's kiss was shy and sweet, causing James to feel as though he was levitating passed the rain clouds and towards the starlit sky above them. He responded eagerly but still matched her slightly cautious manner because this was not to be rushed. There they remained in the rain, kissing and filling one another with a source of light that could not be dimmed even by the grey rain clouds that swirled above them.

'I can't believe I owe McGonagall 5 fucking galleons.' Sirius grumbled to Remus, Marlene and Peter as they trudged back to the castle, all drenched from the rain, leaving the Head boy and girl oblivious to the rest of the world by the shore of the Lake.

'Fuck you, Sirius.' Marlene responded grouchily and his eyes lit up instantly.

'Yes please!' And the next thing anyone heard was the sound of Marlene chasing her boyfriend with her wand out after he had pinched her bottom. By the lake, James looked around in complete bafflement having heard squeals from the castle entrance and the shouts of ' _Help me!_ ' but Lily just laughed, knowing full well that their friends had witnessed them kiss.

* * *

Lily and Evelyn sat beside one another in the stands during the Slytherin vs Gryffindor match, each of them waving their respective team's banner. Remus sat further along the row beside Emmeline Vance, the two of them conversing with their heads close together, and Peter was snogging his girlfriend right at the back of the stands. Up in the air, Sirius and Marlene seemed to be having a competition to see who could knock the most Quaffles off course with a well-aimed Bludger and James seemed to be attempting add as many skilful flourishes as he could to his flying.

'I don't know why I bothered turning up.' Evelyn said from beside Lily, watching the Slytherin team mournfully. 'We're not going to win.'

'You don't know that.' Lily chided encouragingly but with little conviction as the score was already 170 : 10 to Gryffindor. 'Besides, think of this as an opportunity for fresh air an-'

'And rain.' Evelyn cut in miserably as the heavens opened. Instinctively, the two females produced umbrellas and held them over their heads in complete unison.

'It's not that bad.' Lily encouraged and waved up at James as he glanced in her direction. He winked and then hurled the Quaffle past the Slytherin Keeper in expert fashion.

'Maybe for you – you're team isn't playing the equivalent of a Troll grade.' Lily laughed slightly and cheered with the rest of the Gryffindor supporters as the score board updated itself.

'I'm sure you can come to the after party.' Lily said, hoping to cheer Evelyn up a little.

'But I'm not in Gryffindor.'

'As if that matters!' Lily dismissed. 'I'll just pull the Head girl card if someone protests.' Evelyn still looked unconvinced. 'Go on! It'll be fun! You can get ready with Marlene and me.'

'Fine.' Evelyn gave in, knowing by Lily's face, which glowed with anticipation, that she would not stop until she agreed.

'We're going to have a great time! I can just feel it!' Lily beamed and applauded as Kingsley Shacklebolt scored another goal for Gryffindor.

'I hope Katie catches the Snitch soon.' Evelyn said after a few minutes of watching the match in silence.

'Look at you supporting Gryffindor's Seeker.' Lily observed with amusement and Evelyn scowled at her in mock anger.

'Yeah, well, if we waited for Zabini to get the Snitch we'd be here for years.' Evelyn explained. 'If I'm going to support a Seeker they have to have some talent.'

'I'm sure he's trying his best.' Lily reasoned fairly, adjusting her grip on her umbrella. 'YES, MARLS!' she added as Marlene intercepted the Quaffle with a Bludger and sent it spiralling into Frank Longbottom's hands. She didn't really understand the game of Quidditch but that didn't mean she didn't support the Gryffindor team.

'I think he's hammered.' Evelyn mused, her eyes focused on the Slytherin Seeker, a frown in place. He was drifting from side to side in the air and didn't seem to know what was going on around him. 'Honestly!'

Katie, the Gryffindor Seeker, suddenly began spurting across the pitch at break-neck speed, her face filled with concentration. She pelted forwards, reaching out her left arm and then clasping a small hand around the gold fluttering ball. Raising it triumphantly in the air, the red clad supporters went wild and Evelyn shook Lily's hand. The Head girl grinned and they began to make their way out of the stands.

Marlene came bounding over to them as they stepped onto the grassy pitch, her hand clasped in Sirius', and when Lily told her that Evelyn would be joining them for the after party, Marlene grasped the 5th year and began to drag her up to the castle, Sirius pecking her on the cheek before going over to the rest of the Gryffindor team. Lily walked a little behind the gaggle of Gryffindors and smiled to herself. They were all so jubilant in their victory that one couldn't help but echo their emotions.

'Hey.' James interrupted Lily's observing of their fellow Gryffindors and fell into step beside her, his broom over his shoulder.

'Congratulations.' Lily responded, slipping her hand into his. As she smiled up at him, James felt his insides give way and he grinned back lopsidedly.

'What? No kiss for the Gryffindor captain?' James asked, pouting his lip slightly. Lily laughed and pressed a kiss on his cheek.

'Happy now?'

'Not really.' James put on an overexaggerated glower.

'I thought you played brilliantly.' Lily told him mellifluously as they walked and she rested her head lightly on his shoulder. And somehow to James, even though he was already pleased with his win and with how he had flown in today's match, it was Lily's softly spoken voice that brought Gryffindor's victory to life. They eventually reached the Gryffindor Tower and Lily chuckled as James was dragged into the celebrations already being conducted by the male half of the Gryffindor populations. Lily waved merrily at him as he was thrust a bottle of butterbeer and then headed up the girls' staircase into the 7th year dormitory.

Getting ready for the victory party was a rather chaotic affair with the Gryffindor (and a single Slytherin) girls running rampant about the dormitory with various clothing and makeup items. Although the girls leaving the dormitory looked incredibly beautiful, the room behind them was a complete midden of open lipsticks, nail varnish bottles and somehow face powder had made itself everywhere. Nevertheless, the girls headed down the staircase and smiled upon their entrance into the common room before splitting their separate ways. Marlene was quickly snapped up by Sirius and the two headed into the centre of the room where people were dancing wildly. But Evelyn, feeling slightly out of place as the only Slytherin in a herd of Gryffindors, remained close by Lily, who was ushering Emmeline over to where Remus stood by the wall, sipping his drink and watching with great amusement as James was surrounded by a gaggle of giggling females.

'Remus!' Lily greeted him enthusiastically and Emmeline smiled shyly. Evelyn hovered awkwardly behind the two of them but Lily brought her round and introduced her. 'This Evelyn by the way.'

'Nice to meet you, Evelyn.' Remus said politely and Evelyn nodded her head but said nothing.

'I found the perfect person to help with your Defence essay – Emmeline told me while we were getting ready about her dad's job. He's a professional Lethifold catcher!' Lily beamed at the thought and Remus attempted to smile back but found he was too nervous.

'T-that's nice…' he replied weakly. Lily put her eyes on his drink and then back up to his face.

'Is there butterbeer?' Lily asked happily. 'Come on, Evelyn! We'd better get some before they run out – d'you want me to get you one, Emmeline?' Emmeline shook her head hastily and then Lily dragged Evelyn towards the drinks table. The two girls took a butterbeer and Lily waved at James with a wide grin and he glared back, clearly uncomfortable with his group of admirers. She and Evelyn chuckled slightly and James huffed from his side of the room. 'Those two…' Lily said with a sigh, bringing the conversation towards Emmeline and Remus. 'I really hope they tell each other how they feel soon.'

'Just lock them in a broom cupboard for the day.' Evelyn replied as if such an action were normal. 'It's what we do in Slytherin if we think two people have a lot of sexual tension and trust me, you do not what to go near that cupboard for the whole day unless you want to be mentally scarred.'

'I always think it's incredible how close knit the Houses are compared with Gryffindor. We're constantly split and there's always at least two cliques at war.' Lily said thoughtfully, taking a sip of her butterbeer.

'No, no, Ravenclaw's the worst House in that respect.' Evelyn disagreed, shaking her head firmly. Lily considered Evelyn's point for a moment.

'I suppose they branch into different types of academia and the arts.' Lily agreed.

'And with them, they only look out for their own group because they don't like any of the others.'

'They do have the worst arguments. I once stayed behind in Charms to practice a little more and Professor Flitwick had to deal with an argument that included at least 7 different groups.' Lily recalled with a slight shiver. 'I've never seen such hatred between people of the same House – it was horrible – not even the cliques at war in Gryffindor are that bad.'

'What about you and Potter?' Evelyn asked quietly, though she nodded in agreement.

'Well, I never saw it from an outsider's perspective but it only got really nasty when we were arguing about S-Snape.' Lily shifted her feet slightly and took a large gulp of butterbeer. 'Anyway, I'd say that either Hufflepuff or Slytherin have the best House unity.'

'Hufflepuffs couldn't hate anyone if they tried.' Evelyn said and tucked a hair, which had fallen into her face 10 minutes prior, back behind her ear with an impatient expression. 'So they win.'

'I'm not sure. In Slytherin, you all seem to stick together and if someone messes with a Slytherin they generally mess with the whole house – James should know.' She laughed to herself lightly for a second or two.

'Well, when the rest of the school straight away assume you're evil because you're in Slytherin, you stick together. Everyone else hates us so we have to find our protection in each other. If we were all at war with each other imagine how easy Slytherins would be to defeat but we wouldn't allow the other Houses the satisfaction so we all stick together.' Evelyn explained with a shrug.

'But they shut you out…' Lily said softly and watched Evelyn with great concern in her emerald eyes.

'Abandoning a single person is easier than splitting an entire House.' Evelyn replied fairly but her own eyes were saddened. 'In an argument, you're either on your own or the whole House sides with you and I'm on my own.'

'No, you're not.' Lily told her firmly. 'You've got Marlene and me.'

'You're leaving at the end of the year.' Evelyn whispered and there were slight tears in her eyes. 'I've never had anyone at school be so nice to me since my first year when I…' she trailed off, a few tears trickling down her face.

'Why did they shut you out?'

'B-because I hexed Mucliber for calling my mother Gryffindor scum.' she admitted and furiously wiped her tears away. 'Ever since people started taking out their dislike of Slytherin on me because they knew no one would stop me a-and then you came along. You didn't know what I'd done nor who I was except for my name and you helped me. You helped me when I couldn't levitate those bats for the Halloween feast and when you found me on the Hogwarts Express hiding - hiding like a coward... you didn't hate me and you and Marlene tried to help. I'd barely ever spoken to either of you before but you were still willing to get back at Jack Smith without a second's hesitation and you're Head girl and everything.'

'It was nothing.' Lily brushed Evelyn's speech off with a small wave and then pulled her into a hug. 'We all need saving from time to time.'

'Hi, Lily,' a shy voice sounded beside the two girls as the broke apart. It was Stewart Andrews. 'I was w-' he stopped as his eyes took in Evelyn. Stewart's entire face turned pink and he began to stutter slightly. 'P-P-Pucey, you l-look amaz-amazing.'

'Thanks.' Evelyn mumbled and glowered at Lily's wide smile.

'Why don't you two go dance for a bit?' she suggested.

'Are you sure?' Evelyn checked suspiciously.

'Oh, yes.' Lily said cheerfully. 'I injured my ankle walking back up to the castle.' She waved them off and Stewart shyly took Evelyn's hand, leading her towards the cluster of dancing individuals as the song changed to a slow ballad by the Hobgoblins.

'That was a lie, Miss Evans.' James said, sternly, appearing by her side.

'Was it?' she replied innocently as she slipped a hand behind his neck and the other in his free one. 'I've temporarily forgotten my journey to Gryffindor Tower.'

'Is that so?' James asked, a grin forming on his lips.

'I'm afraid so.' Lily answered solemnly.

'Well, in that case, I haven't received my kiss for winning.' He grinned down at her and she smirked back, making his mind go numb and the blood rush to a certain area in his body.

'That really is a shame, Mr Potter. We can't have that…'

And their lips crashed together in one united and passion filled movement.

 **Please Review :)**


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N: I hope you liked last chapter! Anyway, here's the next one!**

* * *

 **Chapter 31: Birthdays**

* * *

Lily and James walked hand in hand through the corridors of Hogwarts, fulfilling their Head duties by patrolling. As they walked, Lily listened to James tell her all about his first time attending a Quidditch match with his father. Though she lacked much knowledge of the sport, Lily observed him with rapt attention, smiling softly as he spoke for she noticed the way his eyes lit up as he gesticulated enthusiastically and felt herself warm alongside his joyful expression. Gently, she rested her head against him, allowing his dulcet tones to wash over her in a contented fashion. James briefly broke his blow by blow explanation of exactly how the chasers had changed their formation to kiss Lily on the forehead and she squeezed his hand lightly, snuggling into his arm.

'And then they just rolled into their next position.' James took up his retelling with just as much passion as before. ' _Rolled_ , Lily! It was pure art and I've never seen anything like it since. I've tried so many times to recreate it but they were just pure geniuses. One second they're flying in a Hawks Head Attacking Formation and then all of a sudden, they all roll with their brooms to the left, right over the other team and then without anyone seeing they'd got the Quaffle. Merlin, it was incredible. Fucking incredible.'

Lily's eyes suddenly widened and she made a mental note as to what to get James for his birthday. Then she shook her head and returned her attention to what her boyfriend was saying.

'That was when I knew I wanted to learn how to fly – my dad bought me a broom the next day and we spent about 6 hours in the garden just flying.' James' eyes saddened slightly. 'I think that's one of the things I miss most about him. He was always so patient with me... So was my mum, though she wasn't with my dad. Their arguments used to make me laugh.'

'My parents too. Dad's always trying to wind up Mum,' Lily chuckled a little as she thought of her own parents, 'but Mum's a worthy opponent – she's got a good set of comments up her sleeve. They're both a laugh: Dad told me that at their wedding she laughed for ten minutes when the minister said that marriage led to a family where all could "grow to maturity in love". They had to stop the wedding while she calmed down.' James grinned at her.

'You're family's pretty close.' James said, a small amount of apprehension in his tone.

'They all love you.' she reassured him, kissing him lightly on the cheek. 'I don't think Gran thinks you're in the Russian Mafia which is an excellent sign.'

'She told me about that…' James mumbled, worry now clearly visible in his face. 'T-they're not real, are they?'

'The Russian Mafia?' Lily asked in surprise. 'Well, yes…'

'WHAT?' Horror filled James' face and he moved slightly in front of Lily, shielding her, as though he expected a man in all black to jump out and shoot at them. 'But I've said so many personal things! They'll know a-and use it against me! Am I on their wanted list? Lily, do they want to kill me? I've eaten a Muggle ready-meal before and your Gran said – your Gran said they put poison into them. Am I going to die?' James let out a loud wail. 'I don't want to die of poisoning!'

'James…' Lily said softly, attempting to mask her amusement as she cupped his terrified face in her hands. 'You're perfectly safe… It's okay…'

'You promise?' he asked timidly, his voice resembling that of a small boy.

'I promise.' Lily gently kissed him but then remembered they were supposed to be patrolling and stepped back. They walked a little further and jumped in unison as they heard a loud thud from inside the broom cupboard they had passed.

'I did the last one!' James said instantly and lightly nudged the Head girl towards the cupboard door. She rolled her eyes but then took a deep breath before opening it. Inside, in a rather compromising position with rather ripped clothing, were Evelyn and Stewart, both rather out of breath and slightly sweaty. They froze, as did Lily before she shut the cupboard door once more and turned to James.

'I think we should check this cupboard.' she said to him incredibly loudly. 'I'm sure _no one_ will be in there but we should check just in case.' As she spoke, the cupboard door opened very quietly and the two occupants began creeping out. James winked at Stewart. 'I think I'll turn around in 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…' She began to open the door. 'There is no one in this cupboard.' Lily announced audibly and James snorted.

With a slightly wrinkled nose, Lily scanned the interior of the broom cupboard and noticed a rather unwanted substance on the walls. She flicked her wand and it vanished instantly.

'You know,' James mused in her ear, 'it seems a shame to waste this opportunity.'

Lily wasn't particularly sure she had understood his meaning but a second later she did when he pressed his lips behind her ear and began to move them along her jawbone. Whether it was he or she who shut the door behind them, Lily couldn't remember but the two of them remained in the broom cupboard for quite some time…

* * *

'Happy birthday!' Lily said as Remus sat down beside her at the Gryffindor table. He looked a little harassed and she smiled in amusement at this.

'Not you as well.' he groaned, helping himself to some kippers. 'I've only just escaped my dormitory; Sirius and Kingsley tipped water on me singing.'

'Poor you!' Lily responded sympathetically though her eyes danced with laughter. 'Well, open my present and then we can forget about this whole birthday thing.' Remus smiled gratefully and accepted the parcel she handed him. Carefully removing the wrapping paper, he revealed a luxurious Muggle stationary set and gaped for a moment before hugging her happily.

'This is wicked!' Remus said once he'd let go.

'I'm glad you like it.' Lily replied and beamed at him. 'So, on a safe and non-birthday related subject, di- '

'Remus!' Emmeline cried, arriving next to him at the Gryffindor table. 'You didn't tell me your birthday's today! Now I feel awful – I didn't get you anything!'

'T-that's okay.' he mumbled in response, the pair of them blushing while Lily turned away to conceal her silent laughter. 'Join me for breakfast?'

'I'd love too.' Emmeline seated herself and cautiously began to nibble at a piece of toast, plain toast if one wanted to be specific in its description as she was too focused on Remus to remember such a thing as jam or butter. Lily watched the entrance to the Great Hall while she chuckled and then got up when her friends entered in order to steer them away from the two people beside her.

James winked at his girlfriend as she neared him, Marlene, Sirius and Peter. She grinned back and then ushered them to the nearest spot at the Gryffindor table, a place significantly clear of Remus and Emmeline.

'They are quite sweet, aren't they?' Lily contemplated once they had all sat down. She leaned against James, who put his arm around her, and observed from afar the shy conversation between one of her friends and the girl he fancied.

'That's our Moony,' James answered and they both chortled lightly as Remus accidently knocked over his pumpkin juice.

'How does it feel, Prongs?' Sirius asked with a smirk.

'How does what feel?'

'Being the baby of the group?' Peter confirmed and he high-fived Sirius, the tow of them smirking identically.

'I'm n-'

'Excuse me.' Marlene interrupted with a mock glare at everyone. 'That title belongs to me, thank you very much.'

'Of course,' Lily mused cheerfully, 'how could we forget?'

'Quite easily.' Sirius responded and slunk his arm around Marlene's waist. 'She's something else in the bedroom.' he whispered audibly to the rest of the group, winking smugly.

' _In the bedroom?_ ' Marlene scoffed. 'What are you? Fucking fifty?'

'I just can't win!' Sirius wailed dramatically, burying his face in Marlene's chest and sniffing loudly.

'Oh, shut up, you long-haired pillock!' Marlene groaned but did nothing to stop him resting against her cleavage. James caught Peter's eye and both of them smirked.

* * *

James' birthday rolled into existence precisely 17 days later and Lily spent the entire day being whined at by her boyfriend as no one except her had said happy birthday to him; Lily was under strict instructions not to acknowledge his birthday but had cracked slightly when she'd seen him pouting at breakfast as none of his friends even remarked upon the fact it was exactly 18 years since his birth. She had wished him a happy birthday and promptly been glared at by Marlene.

'You know, Lily,' James said as they left their final lesson of the day and headed towards the Great Hall for dinner, 'I've been wondering about those Slytherins who were going to meet with Voldemort.'

'Oh…' was all Lily could manage and determinately looked ahead of her. His statement had taken her by surprise especially considering she had only heard him complain about the lack of birthday wishes from his friends all day.

'D'you reckon they're death eaters now?' James mused thoughtfully, and Lily coughed loudly. 'Maybe you could ask that Phineas Nigellus painting if he knows anything.'

'I suppose.' Lily still did not look at him and James frowned slightly.

'So, d'you think they're death eaters yet?' he pressed, and Lily bit her lip nervously.

'No.' she responded awkwardly and turned back around to face him with an incredibly forced expression of innocence. It was almost as if the world knew of their conversation for Regulus Black stalked in the opposite direction and briefly he made eye contact with Lily. His previously sour features changed into one of slight suspicion mixed with concern? but Lily smiled at him and he instantly continued to walk, a small flush evident on his usually pale cheeks.

James, who had seen Lily smile but thought this had been directed at him, seemed instantly reassured and smiled down at his girlfriend, put his arm around her.

'But you think it's worth looking into?' he asked eagerly.

'Maybe…' Lily replied, smiling wider to counteract the guilt that flashed through her eyes. 'J-just…' she trailed off as they entered the Great Hall and her eyes fell on Snape at the Slytherin table, eyeing everything around him with displeasure. He looked at her, his black eyes kindling fire as he saw her with James, and she stiffened considerably, looking indignantly back. But James, who hadn't noticed Snape or chosen not to, steered her towards the Gryffindor table.

'Just what?' he asked as they sat down.

'Just be careful… If they're death eaters now – I'm not saying they are – but _if_ they are, they're not just students anymore, they'll know Dark Magic that you've never even dreamed of.' Lily said, slowly, nervously checking her boyfriend's face which had visibly clouded.

'So – so, you don't think I'm a match for Snivellus!' James said angrily, and Lily flinched at his tone of voice.

'That's not fair, James – I never said that.'

'But you implied it.' he retorted, and he moodily dumped a steak onto his plate.

'No, I didn't.' Lily persisted. 'I only said these maybe death eaters might know Dark Magic that we've never encountered. They'll know stuff way beyond what we've learnt in class.'

'And Snivellus is one of those "maybe death eaters",' James took a sip of pumpkin juice and then slammed his goblet down on the table so hard that it fell over and spilled orange liquid all over the white table cloth, 'meaning you therefore said that I'm not a match for him!'

'Well, fine, James,' Lily snapped, getting to her feet, 'you want to get killed? Go ahead! Be my guest! See if I care!'

'Li-'

'Oh, and enjoy getting tortured while you're at it!'

She stormed out of the Great Hall with several students staring in her direction as James shouted after her but then heatedly turned back to his dinner. Lily pushed past a bunch of students and accidently knocked shoulders with one of them. They made eye contact and her emerald eyes were met by Marlene's concerned ones. She continued rushing away from the Great Hall and into the nearest girls' toilets, closely followed by her best friend, who bellowed for all in the toilets to get out. A single third year, who had been washing her hands, slouched out glaring at Marlene, who matched this expression and put her middle finger up at their back. Once the door shut behind the third year, Marlene turned to Lily, who was pacing before the sinks, her hands shaking with either rage or upset but Marlene was unsure of which emotion it was.

'Lil?'

'He is such an idiot!' Lily seethed. Anger then, thought Marlene with a slight grin as she watched Lily rage before her like an old familiar scene absent for about 2 years. 'A complete and utter idiot!'

'And by this we mean James Potter?'

'Who else could it be?' Lily responded impatiently.

'This takes me fucking back.' Marlene said reminiscently but not loud enough for Lily to hear.

'This isn't as simple as playing a few pranks and running for it under his invisibility cloak but he's too stupid to realise it! This is actual death eaters we're talking about!' Lily rolled up her sleeves in frustration and let out an irritated groan. 'Why is he always so childish about these things?'

'Because he's a Marauder.' Marlene supplied helpfully.

'Exactly! People think I'm naïve, but he is something else; him and his bloody hero complex.' She sighed loudly. 'And then he gets all "are you saying I'm not a match for Snivellus?" – you know what, James? No, no you're not.'

'I feel like I'm missing something.' Marlene muttered but Lily didn't hear her.

'Snape can probably perform Unforgivables and you? You can fill chocolate cauldrons with swelling solution and make them explode on people! That'll be a great help against the Imperious curse!' Lily ran one of the taps and splashed cold water on her face, taking deep breaths to try and calm down.

'You know what I think this calls for?'

'No.' Lily responded dully.

'The silent treatment!' Marlene declared enthusiastically.

'I don't understand…'

'Well, you know the plan was to ignore the fact it's his birthday and then make him follow us to the common room for his surprise birthday party?' Marlene checked, and Lily nodded. 'This is just an extension of that, really – blank him until he realises how much of a stupid wanker he's being.'

'Will that really help?'

'Course it fucking will!' Marlene encouraged and began to drag her from the toilets. 'We'd better start getting you ready if we're gunna make this hit him in the bollocks – and hard!'

When Lily and Marlene entered the common room 2 hours later, the party had just started and people were already dancing to the music blasting its way through the Wizarding wireless. Marlene was dressed in a tight black dress and wore heavy eye makeup that made the first years, who had attempted to spy on the party happening in the common room, scurry up to their dormitory in fright. Lily had been instructed to wear a rather short red dress that matched the scandalously red lipstick she wore and contrasted beautifully with her jet-black stilettos. The two made their way over to the food table and ate as many sausage rolls as they could fit in their mouths whilst laughing and then each downed a shot of firewhisky. They then helped themselves to a bottle of butterbeer each before heading over to where everyone was dancing.

The two best friends danced wildly, not caring what everyone else thought, bumping hips and jumping in time to the music. The Hobgoblins latest song pumped through the air and both Marlene and Lily joined in singing with about half of the common room. Sirius and James sat at the side of the common room watching their girlfriends dance with identically dreamy smiles.

'Bingo.' Marlene shouted to Lily over the music and jerked her head in James' direction. 'All we got to do now is avoid him the whole night!'

'Is it alright if I put my present for him on his present pile?' Lily asked holding up a small wrapped box.

'Alright. We'll go now.' They made their way to a large table piled high with presents and Lily placed hers carefully on the top so as not to disturb the precariously balanced stack. 'That's a lot of fucking girls who got him stuff.' Marlene observed as she read a few of the gifts' labels. Lily shrugged.

'It's free stuff.' she replied, and Marlene nodded with a grin.

'Priorities.' Marlene said, and they laughed.

'I've been looking into the cost of in-' Lily broke off as a fifth year came to the present table and lovingly placed a heart-shaped gift on the table. She waited until they were out of earshot before continuing. 'I reckon if we start buying before Easter it'll be cheaper than if we wait till afterwards. I saw a decent deal in the Daily Prophet on Gi-'

'Have you seen Reeemus?' a slightly drunk Emmeline Vance interrupted. She stumbled where she stood and Marlene bit back a laugh.

'D'you want us to help look for him?' Lily asked, putting down her butterbeer and holding onto Emmeline's right side to steady her. Marlene quickly held her left side and the three of them staggered slightly towards the other side of the room, where Remus stood talking to Kingsley Shacklebolt and Frank Longbottom. 'I should not've worn heels.' Lily said, wincing as they neared Remus. He saw them, and his mouth curved into an amused smile as he took in Emmeline, who was quite obviously intoxicated.

'REEEMUS!' she cried happily and practically leapt onto him. Remus looked quite taken aback but soon recovered himself.

'How about we go sit down?' he suggested softly.

'Okay!' Emmeline nodded eagerly, and they headed towards one of the sofas. As soon as they had sat down, Emmeline flung herself at him and tried to kiss him but Remus gently held her back. She seemed to droop as he did so and her face saddened. 'D-d'you not want to kiss me?' she asked sadly.

'Oh, I do,' Remus admitted, her intoxication giving him confidence for it was likely she would not recall this the next morning, 'but I'd like to do it when you're not drunk and know what you're doing.'

Lily and Marlene watched Emmeline and Remus' exchange from a far, both of them smiling slightly as they did so. Then Marlene glanced to the side and coughed as two males made their way towards them. Sirius was quick to bring Marlene into his arms and start snogging her, but James was not so forward and tapped Lily on the shoulder.

'Hey, Lily,' he murmured, taking hold of her two hands and rubbing his thumbs across them in slow, gentle circles, 'I just wanted to say that – that…' Lily's insides grew hopeful and Marlene stopped eating her boyfriend's face to listen. 'I wanted to say that you look really beautiful tonight a-'

He broke of as Lily let out a loud sigh and pulled away her hands before walking away, towards the girls' staircase and disappearing up them.

'Why are you such a fucking twat?' Marlene snapped and stormed off after her best friend, leaving behind her two very baffled males.

'What did I do?' James asked Sirius in bewilderment.

'No idea, mate. No idea…'

 **Please Review :)**

 **So… are you on James' side or Lily's side?**


	32. Chapter 32

**A/N: Please don't hate me for making them argue! This chapter's taking place in a field... how exciting...**

* * *

 **C** **hapter 32: At the Concert**

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The Easter Holidays arrived and with it came the date of Sirius' birthday present from Marlene. She had given him 8 tickets to a Hobgoblins concert so the Marauders and Emmeline Vance, Flora Jenkins, Marlene and Lily (who Marlene had created a team name for: The Marauder's Missuses') all took a portkey from Hogsmeade to the field where the attendees of the concert were supposed to be staying. Decked out in wellies and raincoats, the 8 of them began setting up the gigantic tent Flora had borrowed from her parents; it had 4 smaller sleeping areas and one main section at the centre with a fully stocked kitchen and cosy sitting area. Each sleeping area had a double bed and it was therefore decided that each couple would share their own area though the 'no fucking rule', as Marlene put it, was established seeing as none of the partitions were sound proof.

Sirius decided it necessary to carry Marlene bridal style into their area as Peter walked hand in hand with Flora to their area. Remus and Emmeline smiled shyly at one another, the two had finally kissed though no one had been given any details, and headed to their area, leaving James and Lily alone by a rather squashy looking armchair. They walked to their area in silence and when James attempted to hold Lily's hand, she put her hand in her pocket and pulled out her wand, transfiguring the double bed into two single ones at either end of the area before sighing and walking to the kitchen.

James' eyes saddened as he watched her leave but did not follow her, opting to claim one of the single beds instead. He lay down on it and closed his eyes as into his mind came a memory of the previous week.

' _I was right.' James said coldly as he stood before 4 males clad in dark black robes, evidently intending to sneak out of the castle. 'Off to see old Voldy, are we?'_

' _A much as we'd love to catch up,' sneered Snape, stepping forwards, 'we do have to be elsewhere.' And before James could react, he whipped out his wand and made a slicing movement in the air that caused James to be knocked back and go completely rigid. He thought for a moment he saw Nigel streak out from behind a statue and down the corridor but then the pain began and his frozen state ceased instantly._

'Crucio.' _Snape hissed, and pain seared through every limb in James' body. It licked across his bones causing them to feel as though they were burning and despite his efforts to not show a single sign of weakness, a scream escaped his lips. He was soon hit by a silencing charm so that now his mouth was open in a silent scream._

 _His body contorted in agony and the Slytherins around him laughed, revelling in the pain before him. James' body began to sweat as the pain intensified and his lungs continued to protest, though there was nothing they could do to stop the magic that silenced them. The world before him started to lose focus and slowly but surely his vision went black. As he struggled to remain conscious, he writhed more and more until suddenly the pain stopped. At first, he thought that had been his doing but then he saw Snape's wand had been blasted to the floor. With great effort, he pulled himself into a seating position and watched in amazement as a doe patronus charged at the Slytherins. But was it a patronus? Patronuses were silvery in nature and this seemed to burn a deep red and where its hooves came into contact with the floor, the stone was left burned and blackened. It barrelled into each Slytherin in turn and each one jumped back as though branded before beginning to run away._

' _You're an idiot, James Potter.' a familiar voice said softly and then the world did indeed go black._

James awoke and heard the others all in the main area, evidently eating if the sound of chinking cutlery was anything to go by. He got out of bed and ruffled his hair before making an appearance and accepting the plate of pasta that was offered to him. The rest of the group all seemed slightly tired and Emmeline soon fell asleep on Remus' shoulder, snoring lightly, her hand still holding her fork half way to her mouth. Peter kept yawning and eventually declared he was heading to bed; he was soon followed by Flora and it wasn't long before their snores filled the tent. Remus carefully removed the fork from Emmeline's hand and then carried her off to bed, leaving only Sirius, Marlene, James and Lily in the main section. Lily set about bewitching the dishes to wash themselves as Sirius dramatically flung himself onto Marlene's lap and began to doze. After about 10 minutes, Marlene too drifted off, her head hanging down so that her hair tickled Sirius' face while he slept.

If James had hoped to talk to Lily then he was disappointed for she mumbled something about getting more water and then left the tent, venturing into the night to find the campsite tap. She lit the tip of her wand and meandered in between other tents, humming quietly to herself. Her eyes reflected the night sky above and she paused for a moment to look up and admire the endless blanket of stars above her. It had been a long time since she had last taken time to appreciate the sky's beauty and she let out a slight sigh of contentment as she observed the miniscule balls of light that glowed above her.

Lily looked away from the sky and continued to move through the labyrinth of spaces between tents until she reached the tap. She knelt down and conjured a bucket, which she began to fill with water.

'Avoiding your tent as well, huh?' a voice said behind her and she started. Turning around, her eyes fell on Doris Purkiss, who stood before her wrapped in a fluffy dressing gown and held a bucket in her hands which had definitely seen better days.

'Doris!' Lily greeted. 'I haven't seen you in ages!'

'Not since Sluggy's party.' Doris agreed and the two witches hugged.

'W-what're you doing here? I thought you hated Stubby…' Lily smiled to herself slightly as she said this.

'Oh, I do,' Doris reassured her, 'but my mate's a massive fan of the Hobgoblins and Boardman promised me unlimited tickets if I come to this concert. It's for my friend – I think that phrase is gunna be my mantra soon.' Lily chuckled lightly.

'You can always join us for the concert if you want. I don't know the Hobgoblins music that well.'

'I can't.' Doris groaned. 'I've got to stay back stage as support. It's part of the deal.'

'You can't leave at all?'

'Well, I can but Mr Stubby Boardman'll probably follow me.' She grimaced, and Lily pulled a sympathetic face.

'Maybe I can visit you?' Lily suggested, and Doris nodded eagerly.

'Yes! Lily, you are a lifesaver! The bane of my existence can't complain because he's met you.' Doris smiled widely. 'Thank you so much!'

'It's okay. I could do with an excuse to avoid James…' Lily's face saddened considerably.

'James? That's the bloke you danced with at Sluggy's?' Lily nodded. 'What did he do? I thought he seemed alright… and completely head over heels for you…'

'Really?' Lily let out a humourless laugh. 'We had an argument a few weeks ago and he was being an absolute idiot. He hasn't apologised at all and at first I thought ignoring him would make him get the message but now it just hurts more than anything that he doesn't understand why I'm upset.' Lily sighed and stopped the tap as she noticed her bucket was overflowing with water.

'Why don't you tell him you want him to apologise?' Doris asked, taking Lily's place in front of the tap and turning it on again to fill her own bucket.

'I don't know…' Lily ran a frustrated hand through her hair. 'I suppose I'm scared we'll argue again… At least we're not arguing at the moment even if that means we don't speak. But it's the way he keeps trying to act like nothing's wrong. Like today, for example, he tried to hold my hand and – and… I don't know… it made me angry that he thought I would just want to hold his hand like we hadn't argued.'

'I would just slap him.' Doris said, kicking the tap slightly so that more water gushed out of it. 'In my experience, it's the best way to let blokes know you're pissed and then they start trying to work it out.' Lily laughed slightly and Doris grinned.

'Done that a lot, have you?' she asked amusedly.

'More than you could ever imagine.'

...

Back in the tent, James sat in one of the squashy armchairs with his empty plate and stared at the slightly open tent flap where Lily had left through more than half an hour ago. He shifted in his seat and ran an apprehensive hand through his hair which marked the fifth time that minute. Toying with the idea to leave the tent and go searching for Lily, he semi rose from his seat and then sank back down into it as the image of Lily's face as she left the tent flickered into view. That had been the face of someone who did not wish to be followed and as much as James desperately wanted her to simply speak to him again he also respected her desire to be alone. At least he had up until she had been absent for 20 minutes when his agitated mannerisms had kicked in.

Eventually, he shook himself and stood up, pulling his wand out as his plate fell to the floor. James ignored this, however, and ventured into the dark campsite. He knew the direction of the water tap but frowned as it was absent of any wand light for he knew Lily had left with her wand and found it unlikely that she would choose to stumble blindly in the dark. Lighting his own wand, James quickened his pace and soon reached the water tap. He pointed his wand to the floor so that the ground was illuminated, and his eyes fell on two buckets, one of which had been kicked over and was trickling its remaining contents onto the ground as though it had a wound and was bleeding on a battlefield. Something about the image before him caused his heat beat to increase in frequency and the grip on his wand tightened.

'Lily.' he murmured, looking around him, peering into the dark. As he moved forward, he scanned the vicinity and narrowed his eyes, trying to decipher the spaces in between the looming shadows of tents. 'Lily!' James whispered but there came no response. He hurried along a path between two rows of tents and reached the edge of the campsite. 'Lily!'

...

'Someone's coming!' Doris hissed in Lily's ear and the two females huddled close together behind a large oak tree, their wands clasped in their hands. Cautiously, the two of them peered around the tree and watched as a dark figure neared their hiding place. Lily strained her eyes to make out any details of their appearance and took in their hooded robes.

The figure was drawing nearer and nearer and, although it was evident they did not know of the presence of the two females, they were too close for comfort.

' _Stupefy_.' Lily said quietly, and the figure instantly fell face forwards onto the ground. As though electrocuted, she and Doris leapt into action and dragged the body to behind the oak tree. Doris was struck with the idea of conjuring Wards around them and began to do so while Lily knelt down beside the unconscious body. It was incredibly difficult to see in the dark, so she waited until the Wards were complete before illuminating the tip of her wand. She instantly saw they were wearing a mask with silver engravings and carefully removed it.

Regulus Black's blank face looked up at her and she glanced at Doris, who had returned to keeping a look out, before muttering the counter curse. ' _Rennervate._ ' His eyes flickered open and he immediately attempted to scramble into an upright position, but Lily held him down, shaking her head with wide eyes. She glanced behind her once more and Regulus seemed to grasp that they were not alone and thus stopped struggling. 'How many more of you are there?' she whispered, barely moving her lips.

He studied her for a moment and then his mouth twitched.

'Ten.' he told her in a voice so quiet that she had to put her ear mere inches from his face to hear him.

'Doris,' Lily whispered, straightening up, 'we should get moving and find the security tent.'

'Good idea.' Doris agreed and stood up. Lily extinguished her wand as Doris removed the Wards and tilted her head down towards Regulus.

'Take care,' she murmured to him and then stood up also. Doris and Lily placed Disillusionment Charms over one another and then held onto each other's hand before continuing into the dark.

...

James walked along the edge of the campsite and stared into the world beyond it, holding his wand before him like a sword. He was beginning to feel increasingly vulnerable with his wand lit before him, but he had no hope of seeing without it. No hope unless…

However, just as this thought occurred to him, something moved just outside of his vision. He squinted into the darkness outside of the light protruding from his wand, trying to make out what had shifted.

'Who's there?' he said, almost splintering the wood of his wand so tight was his grip on it.

Unsurprisingly, there was no response but whatever was just out of sight moved forwards slightly so that the sound of material slithering across the ground was clearly audible.

'I said, who's there?' James repeated, louder this time and then he waited.

Nothing.

And so, James let out a sigh of frustration before extinguishing the light of his wand. Two seconds later and he had transformed into his Animagus form. As a stag his eyesight was far more heightened and suddenly it was as though the darkness lifted and the world around him was revealed. For a moment he saw a dark, hooded figure some mere metres from his own position but then it Disapparated and James was left staring at the empty pathway behind where it had stood. He began to trot down the newly revealed pathway, quickening his pace as he noted some dim lights up ahead.

His increased sensitivity as a stag was presenting him with a whole plethora of sounds and scents that merged in his brain and proved difficult to differentiate between. However, none of the senses brought to his attention resembled anything similar to the sweet-smelling jasmine and pear fragrance he knew so well on a certain red head. James had made it one of his habits to pin-point Lily's perfume from the moment he had begun accompanying Remus during the full moon; by that time he already held Lily in a high regard and was incredibly concerned that she would happen to be outside while a werewolf ran about the Forbidden Forest accompanied by his rather immature friends. Despite their current distance, James _knew_ Lily and even when the two had been at odds in fifth year, though he admired her greatly, he had known of her inquisitive nature. The desire, however miniscule, to see him expelled coupled with her concern over Remus' welfare made for a dangerous combination, so James had taken it upon himself to notice her scent, so he could prewarn himself of her presence.

But her perfume was noticeably absent over the other smells all swirling together in a confusing mass. So James did not deter his path towards the dim, unmoving lights as he had no other lead. He slowed his trot to a walk and moved his head from side to side, trying to find something to indicate where Lily was – he was only out here to look for Lily after all.

It didn't take him long to reach the lights of what transpired was the security tent and he hastily transformed back into a human, brushing himself down before pulling back the tent flap.

Inside was a cosy room, with two large leather sofas and a desk in the corner. Two Aurors were sprawled lazily on the sofas playing a game of Exploding Snap. The third Auror sat behind the desk and was pouring over a map of what looked like the campsite muttering to himself. He had a mane of rather grizzly hair and from what James could see of his face it was fixed in a scowl.

'Moody!' he said with a mixture of shock and relief. The muttering Auror turned his head sharply to face him and the two other Aurors looked away from their card game at the new arrival.

'Potter,' Moody responded in a gruff voice, surprise evident on his face, 'I haven't seen you since the funeral. I suppose you're here to see this infernal concert, are you?'

'It was Sirius' birthday present.' James explained, grinning at the disgust in Moody's tone of voice.

'Young people these days…' he muttered and got up from behind the desk with a great sigh. 'I'm guessing this isn't a social call.'

'No, it's not,' James agreed, suddenly remembering why he wasn't back in his own tent. 'Lily – my girlfriend – 's gone missing.'

'By Lily you mean Lily Evans; the girl you've been harping on about since your first year?'

'Yes, yes,' James waved a hand impatiently, 'but she went to go get water about an hour ago and as far as I know hasn't come back – and I've never harped on about her!'

'My visits to your house tell a different story.' Moody dismissed before turning to the matter in hand. 'So, she's been gone for an hour?' James nodded, worry creasing his forehead. 'Right.' Moody limped over to a coat rack, a dull clunk being the only clue to the wooden leg beneath his robes. He heaved on his coat. 'Dawlish,' he barked and one of the other Aurors jumped up from the sofa, 'keep watch outside and try not t-'

He was interrupted by a sudden commotion at the entrance of the tent as an invisible force knocked into a cabinet of Sneakoscopes, sending them crashing to floor. All of the people in the tent whipped out their wands and pointed it towards the place where the cabinet had previously stood. A second later and two females, one of them cursing their stubbed toe, came into view as they removed the Disillusionment Charms from themselves.

'D-death eaters,' Doris stuttered as she gasped for breath. Lily was bent over wheezing slightly, her wand clutched in her hand, her red hair falling into her face. 'A-at least seven of them…'

'Elev- ten.' Lily said as she straightened up. 'Ten.'

'How do you know that?' Moody asked, sounding impressed though slightly suspicious.

'We walked past them,' Lily explained, 'and then ran the rest of the way here.'

'I've seen death eaters,' Doris said darkly, having regained her breath, 'they dress just the same as this lot.'

'Looks like we've got a fight on our hands,' James frowned as he saw concern flicker in Lily's eyes, '–you three stay here.'

'What?' James burst out indignantly.

'You heard me,' Moody growled, 'this is not for amateurs.' He gestured for Dawlish and the other Auror to follow him and Doris flopped down onto one of the sofas as they left. James glowered after them and looked to Lily as if hoping for her to join him in his disgruntlement, but Lily was too busy fiddling with her wand and pacing agitatedly about the tent to notice. She seemed to be conflicted about something and her eyes flicked about, scanning the room in a preoccupied state, not really absorbing what she was observing. Every so often she would pause and deliberate for a moment before shaking her head.

However, after 10 minutes she shook her head one final time and made her way out of the tent. James told Doris to remain where she was and hurried after Lily, who mumbled something too quietly for James to hear. They moved swiftly towards the sound of Moody and the other Aurors shouting spells. Adrenalin pumped through James' veins and he easily kept up with Lily as she rushed towards the fighting. He did note, however, the look of worry etched on her face and he frowned slightly but could not dwell on this as they reached Moody.

The Auror did not seem particularly surprised to see them and merely grunted as he stunned a death eater. There were already nine death eaters tied up and soon the tenth was added to the row of prisoners; James let out a sigh of disappointment, but his eyes soon lit up as an eleventh death eater appeared in front of them. Moody raised his wand, ready to fight, and the two other Aurors and James did the same.

No one moved.

Then Moody brought his wand smashing down and opened his mouth to snarl:  
'S-what the…' his wand flew out of his hand, as did the wands of the other two Aurors, James and Lily, who watched hers drop to the floor, completely unfazed. The death eater remained were they stood for a moment, their wand never once pointed at the people before them, before Disapparating. Moody stared at the spot where the death eater had been for a while and then turned to face James and Lily.

'Right, you two can go back to your tent,' Moody instructed, 'I'll conduct a search of the campsite but I reckon that's the last of them.'

'Come on, James,' Lily stooped down to pick up her and James' wands, pocketing her own and holding out the other to James. He took it from her quickly and then began striding back to the tent so that she had to jog to keep up with him. James said nothing the whole way back and seemed to be silently seething so Lily waited until they had reached the tent before attempting to speak to him. As he went to pull back the tent flap, she reached out a hand and gently pulled his back. To her surprise, he leapt back as though she had branded him. 'James… Are you alright?'

'You disarmed us.' James spoke so quietly that Lily barely heard him.

'Pardon?'

'You disarmed us, didn't you?' he repeated, a fierce glow radiating in his eyes.

'I don't know what you're talking about.' Lily responded defiantly, and James let out a harsh snort.

'Don't lie!' he hissed. 'I saw you! I saw you defend that death eater scum!'

'So what if I did?' Lily said defensively and stiffened in her stance.

'So what?' James laughed humourlessly. ' _So what_? You protected a fucking death eater!'

'I-'

'Who were they?' James interrupted, and Lily's eyes widened slightly.

'No one.' she replied with a rather obvious gulp.

'It was Snape, wasn't it?'

'No, it wasn't!' Lily not only sounded shocked but indignant.

'Quit lying, will you!' James snapped. 'I should've known – been sneaking around behind everyone's back have you? Been enrolled as the first Muggle-born death eater?'

'Don't you d-'

'Maybe you've even shagged in those cosy sneaking sessions!'

'You know what?' Lily began to storm towards the tent flap. 'Fuck you! _Fuck you_!'

And then she disappeared into the tent, leaving James standing outside breathing heavily, anger still pounding through his body.

 **Please Review :)**

 **Was Lily in the right? Let me know what you think.**


	33. Chapter 33

**A/N: A total of two arguments since getting together. Nothing like death eaters at a concert to bring out people's insecurities. Ah, well...**

* * *

 **Chapter 33: Explanations**

* * *

The fact that something had occurred between Lily and James was evident to anyone who saw the pair of them near one another; Lily would look as if she wished to throw something and James would have the appearance of someone with an incessant urge to throttle everyone in the vicinity. The two had taken to referring to each other by title only and conducted any conversations with the other in a frostily civil manner. Only someone entirely inept at observing social interactions could have missed the bitter air that hung around the two of them whenever they saw one another.

Marlene had nagged Lily since their return from the concert, but Lily had only reluctantly told her with the promise that she would not breath a word of it to anyone nor would she bring it up for discussion. They both knew that Lily did not wish to cause her best friend conflict between her and her boyfriend, who would inevitably side with James. And so, Marlene watched her best friend suffer with mounting concern as she knew Lily and she could plainly see the hurt beneath her anger.

Lily spent an increasing amount of time in the library revising or writing out Agony Aunt articles or filling out mail order forms whilst consulting great lists of offers on potions ingredients. She also wrote to Gringotts bank and collected newspaper cuttings of flats or houses for sale, showing them to Marlene, who stored them in a large folder marked _Future_.

 _ **Marlene: Lil?**_

The red leather notebook that Marlene and Lily used to communicate glowed momentarily and Lily glanced up from her notetaking on animagi, pulling the notebook towards her.

 _ **Lily: What is it?**_

 _ **Marlene: Where are you?**_

 _ **Lily: The library.**_

 _ **Marlene: I fucking know that! Which isle?**_

She looked at the nearest row of books for the gold number nailed to the side giving the isle number.

 _ **Lily: Six. Why?**_

 _ **Marlene: Sirius is looking for you but he was fucking pissed about something; reckon it might be to do with you know what – thought I'd give you a heads up.**_

 _ **Lily: Thanks.**_

Lily shot a glance at the entrance of the library and saw a familiar long-haired male enter, his entire form seemingly shaking with rage.

 _ **Lily: Just seen him.**_

 _ **Marlene: Fucking shit balls.**_

With a flick of her wand, Lily's things had packed themselves into her schoolbag and she hastily stood up, edging behind the bookcase.

 _ **Lily: Escape?**_

Marlene did not respond, though a large blot of ink suddenly appeared on the page of the notebook which grew in size the longer Lily looked at it; evidently, Marlene's quill was dripping onto her own notebook. Lily stowed the red book away and peered cautiously around the bookcase. Sirius was no longer in sight. Mentally, Lily swore and slowly moved further behind the book shelf, closing her eyes as she leaned against it.

'Hey, Mudblood,' Lily jumped as a cold voice sounded beside her, 'I want a word outside.' She opened her eyes and took in the solemn face of Regulus Black. Evidently, he was surprised by the relief that flooded across her features for it shone plainly in his eyes as he stepped back slightly and then stiffened as she grabbed his arm, hastily dragging him out of the library whilst looking furtively about her. She only let go once they were safely one corridor away and then stopped, observing him expectantly.

'What is it?' Lily eyed him with a mixture of wariness and concern.

'I need a favour, Mudblood.' he said, relieved that she had removed her tight grip from his arm.

'Why?' Her emerald eyes showcased her increasing concern, though suspicion still lurked in the background.

'Well, McGonagall found a few first years with hives all over them near the dungeons, which may or may not have been due to my actions, so I need you to use your Head girl power to steer her away from me, so I don't get expelled.'

There was silence as Lily looked at him, no particular emotion visible on her face. She straightened where she stood but said nothing, just looking directly at Regulus. It was clear he was unsure of how to take her silence because he shifted his stance and frowned, slightly uncomfortable under her unwavering gaze.

WHACK!

Lily's fist collided with his nose, a horribly loud crunch sounding about the empty corridor. Her emerald eyes glistened with angry, hurt tears and her whole body shook with emotion combined with adrenalin.

'How dare you.' Lily's voice was low and trembled alongside her body as she towered over Regulus, despite the fact he was taller than she was, as he clutched at his broken, bleeding nose. ' _How dare you._ ' she hissed, taking a step closer and narrowing her eyes. 'I LOST JAMES FOR YOU! I PROTECTED YOU AND NOW… now he hates me – I love him and he hates me…' A single tear rolled down her cheek. 'If it weren't for me you'd be in Azkaban right now and you _dare_ stand in front of me and say you attacked some first years and want my help to escape expulsion.'

'Oh, don't blame me for you and Potty's break up.' Regulus sneered thickly as blood ran out from behind his hand.

'I lied for you!' Lily snapped, and as Regulus took in her furious expression he cowered a little. 'I tried to help you because you're Sirius' little brother and I knew it would destroy him if you went to Azkaban a-and because I cared about you; but not anymore – you're just the death eater scum everyone says you are.' And then, she slapped him before striding off in the direction of Gryffindor Tower and the company of her best friend.

However, the world had other ideas and as soon as she reached the opposite end of the corridor and knocked into Sirius, who had come running out to meet her. He reached out and caught her arm, but Lily was quick to shrug him off.

'Not now, Sirius,' she mumbled and attempted to walk away but he easily matched her pace and strode next to her. 'I really don't need you yelling at me right now.'

'Oh, don't try get out of this, Evans.' he said with a voice that suggested he was a policeman and she a criminal mastermind he had finally managed to capture.

'Can't it wait until tomorrow?' Lily asked cautiously.

'You know even your face is a liar.' Sirius spat, pulling her roughly to a stop.

'Did the He-'

'You stand there, looking as innocent as ever, but inside you're just a fucking bitch!' He loomed over her, but Lily stood her ground, looking vaguely back at him. 'You fucking cheated on James – with _Snivellus_ – and you're not even fucking begging him to so much as look at you! Did the same to old Eddie, did you? I always wondered why you two split so suddenly…'

He did not notice something flash across Lily's eyes.

'You paint yourself as this… angel! But you're actually a lying, cheating piece of shit! What've you told Marlene? I bet you've made sure she thinks James is the wanker here!'

'If you bring Marlene into this, I wil-'

'Oh, shut the fuck up, slag!' Sirius pulled out his wand, but Lily was fast to produce her own, casting a Shield Charm for protection as she did so.

'SIRIUS BLACK!' an angry voice bellowed from the end of the corridor. Both he and Lily turned to face the new comer. 'If you fucking hurt Lily, I'll fucking end our relationship and you're fucking life.'

Marlene had arrived.

She strode over to them and stood pointedly beside Lily, looping an arm around her best friend whilst bring out her own wand and twirling it in her fingers.

'M-Marlene, she's cheating on James!' Sirius shouted as though he were worried she couldn't hear.

'If you believe that shit you must be more fucking thick than I thought, eh, Lil?' Lily said nothing but smiled slightly at her best friend, who had had impeccable timing.

'So, you're calling James a liar?' Sirius asked, his chest puffed up angrily.

'I'm saying that boy jumps to the worst conclusions way too fucking much.'

'I believe anything he says over that slag – he's my brother!'

'Call Lily that again and I will fucking murder you!' Marlene snarled and ceased twirling her wand, choosing to point it threateningly at her boyfriend.

'Y-you – you-'

'Have you even fucking heard Lily's explanation?' Sirius did not respond. 'I thought you fucking hadn't.'

'I'm sorry,' Sirius mumbled.

'What was that?' Marlene asked bossily. 'I didn't hear you.'

'I said I'm sorry!' Sirius practically shouted, and his girlfriend nodded approvingly.

'Much better. Right, Lil, want to explain to Sirius why he's a wanker?' Marlene prodded them both in the back and the three of them began walking back to Gryffindor Tower.

'I – well, um, it was Regulus…'

'You cheated on James with Reg?' Sirius almost thundered but fell silent with a glare from Marlene.

'No, no!' Lily replied, slight aghast. 'Well, he's a d-death eater now…' Lily trailed off, glancing anxiously at Sirius for signs of shock and hurt but he appeared only as if his suspicions had been confirmed. 'So at the concert there were some death eaters – planning to attack, I suppose – and one of them was Regulus. When we came across them, Moody had them all rounded up except him and as he was about to I disarmed everyone to protect him. I knew you'd be heartbroken if he got sent to Azkaban so I protected him… James was the only one who saw and when we got back to the tent we argued a-and when I wouldn't say who the death eater was, James decided it was Snape and then all of a sudden got it into his head that I'd cheated on him – with Snape – so I just told him to leave me alone and never speak to me again.'

'And you phrased it exactly like that?' Marlene piped up, watching her best friend carefully.

'Phrased what?' Lily replied in confusion.

'The bit where you told him to leave you alone and never speak to you again.'

'Well… not exactly…' Lily's cheeks had heated up slightly.

'Lily Evans! What would your dear mother say?' Marlene cried in mock horror and then cackled. Sirius shook his head exasperatedly.

They reached the common room and as Marlene gave the password to the Fat Lady, Sirius tapped Lily on the shoulder.

'Listen, Evans, I'll explain everything to James.'

'B-'

'No, I mean it! It's about Reg so I th-'

'I understand.' Lily smiled at him. 'Thanks, Sirius.'

'Thanks to you too, Evans – for saving Reg, that is…'

* * *

It wasn't long before the chaos of revision and the prospect of exams descended meaning Marlene and Lily found themselves in the Room of Requirement for what they claimed was their Potions revision; this was not in fact a lie for the Wit-Sharpening potions were definitely in the syllabus but perhaps not to the scale the two best friends were making them. There were great vats yellow potions, half-prepared potions and cupboards stuffed with pre-chopped ingredients.

Marlene sat cross-legged on the floor, reciting her Transfiguration notes whilst bewitching the yellow liquid to fill a table of about one hundred glass vials. Meanwhile, Lily mumbled her own Care of Magical Creatures notes and Charmed several quills to write neat, identical labels. Once the quills were set in motion and the vials now decanting of their own accord, the two set about making a few more batches of potion and completing the half-finished ones, all the while revising and working with efficiency.

A large grandfather clock boomed in the new hour and the two stopped, flattening their hair slightly and then leaving the room, heading to dinner.

'I think we're almost ready for tomorrow.' Lily said as they closed the door behind them. 'If we put the word out tonight, we should have orders by tomorrow morning.'

'Anything you say, Miss Business Manager.' Marlene agreed, waving her hand airily and grinning as Lily elbowed her lightly. 'What? You're the fucking smart one out of us two.'

'Hey, you're just as clever as I am!' Lily defended and grinned back.

'That is true – I am known as a fucking genius.'

'We should be able to afford the places we liked in the Daily Prophet without this year's profit but it'll be good to have some money left seeing as we need furniture.' Lily said as she mulled over some of her calculations from the previous week. 'We'll also have to work food into our budget but hopefully we'll have our jobs by then. When d'you start at the Daily Prophet?'

'If I get all my results, three weeks after school ends.'

'Same.' Lily grinned again, and Marlene groaned in disgust.

'We're really fucking adults, aren't we?'

'I suppose so…' They both sighed in unison, thinking of how different their life was now to the life they had anticipated when they'd first made plans to move in together after Hogwarts in 4th year.

'D'you reckon we'll have more customers this year?' Marlene asked thoughtfully.

'I'm not sure – it depends, I suppose, on how willing the 5th years this year are to cheat.' Lily replied pensively. 'W-' she broke off as they reached the Great Hall, which had far too many ears to deem their conversation private anymore.

'We'd better go sit down – his majesty's waving at us.' Marlene said, indicating her head at Sirius, who was indeed waving at them enthusiastically. 'Why is he so fucking happy?'

'Because he's just seen the love of his life.' Lily replied and nudged Marlene lightly. Her best friend spluttered beside her and Lily chuckled quietly.

'Lil, shut up!' Marlene whined, once she had regained the ability to speak.

'Forgive me, Lady Love.' Lily responded, and Marlene began muttering to herself as they walked over to the Gryffindor Table. The two sat down, Marlene next to Sirius and Lily next to her, rather awkwardly opposite James. Sirius kissed his girlfriend on the lips and as the two progressed to snogging, Lily helped herself to a portion of toad-in-a-hole, trying to conceal a smile of amusement. She ate quickly and then fumbled about in her robe pocket, producing her wand a second later. Then she set about rehearsing some Charms on her cutlery, her brow furrowed with concentration.

James ate purposefully on the other side of the table, making a point to cut his steak loudly and with as much enthusiasm as possible. He determinately chewed on his food and took a large gulp of his pumpkin juice.

'Sorry!' Lily said as her hand slipped and a fork she had been levitating clattered in front of his plate. Her face turned pink with embarrassment and she hastily picked it up, her hands shaking slightly as she gave a nervous glance at James, who was staring at her with an unreadable expression. 'I just remembered I've got some homework left to do…' She replaced her wand in her pocket and hurried out of the Hall.

'Lil!' Marlene called after her with concern, pulling away from Sirius' face. 'Li-'

She broke off as James rushed after her and opted for smirking at Remus, who sat with Emmeline further down the table and returned the facial expression. Then she brought her attention back to Sirius, who let out a bark of laughter before bringing his lips back to hers.

Meanwhile, Lily had reached the bottom of the staircase and was jostling past a group of students to eventually make her way to the safety of the girls' dormitory. She quickened her pace up the stairs as if she could sense she had a pursuer, who indeed was charging through the large double doors into the Entrance Hall.

'LILY!' James bellowed across the Entrance Hall and everybody in it, except Lily, froze; she sped up, practically sprinting up the staircase and out of sight. 'LILY EVANS!' He rocketed after her and did a slight wave at the other students as they cheered him on. Lily gave a small squeak as she looked over her shoulder and saw James speed into the corridor, thus moving her legs as fast as she could, pelting down the hallway. 'LILY, DON'T FUCKING RUN FROM ME!'

In her quest to run from James, Lily had accidently sprinted into a dead end and she panicked at the end of the corridor, listening to James' footsteps draw nearer. Seeing a door on her right, she wrenched it open and then slammed it shut behind her so that she was alone in the unused classroom. She looked at the desks and chairs stacked up right to the ceiling until an incessant pounding on the door.

'I'm not in here!' Lily called out and immediately shook herself.

'Course you're not.' James responded from the other side of the door, his voice muffled through the wood.

'Exactly, so you can just… be on your way… please…'

'I'm not going anywhere until we talk about this shit.' Lily could almost see him run a frustrated hand through his already messy hair.

'There isn't much to say, James,' Lily said softly. 'We both don't know enough about each other to trust each other.'

'That's bollocks, Lily, and you know it.'

'No, it isn't.'

'I know you! You're Lily Evans. Your biggest fear is turning into your sister, you would do anything to protect Marlene, you saved Regulus from going to Azkaban and you have the biggest heart in the world; you somehow always know when I'm uncomfortable with silence and hum to fill it; you also seem to know everything about me without any way of having found out.' She heard him sigh. 'Listen, Lily, I'm not in love with some fake version of you like you seem to think and I was wrong to say the things I did that night outside the tent. I'm sorry.'

Lily was silent for a moment, watching the door as if she expected it to speak for her.

'I – well, I'm sorry for not telling you about Regulus and for some of the stuff I said to you on your birthday – I do care if you die or not.' Lily rested her hand flat on the door and, somehow, James seemed to sense this for he placed his own in exactly the same place on the other side.

'That's very reassuring.' The two laughed slightly.

'I suppose I should say some of the things I know about you. You're James Potter. Your biggest fear is being stabbed in the back by a friend, you and your best friends made an enchanted map in 5th year, your Animagus form is a stag, your parents died from Dragon Pox, you somehow sat through the whole of my sister's wedding and danced with me in the rain,' she paused for breath, 'you also jump to conclusions a lot but in the end you mean well and you care about the people around you.'

'See?' James said pleadingly. 'We do know each other.'

'I…'

'There's always going to be some things we don't know, and we just have to accept that, but we can make this work.' Lily watched as the doorknob turned. 'You're it for me, Lily.' She stepped back just as the door opened and James stood in the threshold. For a moment, the two simply stared at one another, silence the only thing between them.

'I'm sorry, James. I'm so so sorry. I was horrible, wasn't I?' Lily whispered, watching him carefully. He shrugged slightly.

'So was I.'

James took a step forwards.

He cupped Lily's face gently and she looked at him with wide eyes. His face leant down to hers. She deliberated for a moment and then closed her eyes, allowing him to kiss her. Their lips met, and Lily felt her whole body shivered with delight. James' tongue entered her mouth and Lily brought her hands around the back of his head, her fingers lacing into his hair.

'I-I need to,' Lily said, breathing heavily when they broke apart fully 10 minutes later, 'tell you something.'

'Go – go for it.' James sounded slightly like he'd just completed a marathon.

'Well…' Lily straightened her robes. 'I just wanted to say…' She flattened her hair. 'I thought I should tell you that I – that I love you.' It really was remarkable how pink Lily could turn and James grinned at her in a way that made her turn even redder.

'Anything else you want to confess?' James asked jokingly.

'MarleneandIsellWit-Sharpeningpotionsillegallybeforetheexams!' Lily burst out in a rush and then glanced towards the classroom window as if wondering if it was a possible escape route.

'You and Marlene do what?' James question, taken aback by her sudden overload of words.

'We s-sell Wit-Sharpening potions during exam season – anonymously.'

'You – bloody hell – wow!' James looked her wondrously and she smiled sheepishly. 'You are something else, Lily, you know that?'

'Thanks.'

 **Please Review :)**

 **Who's happy that Lily and James are back together? I am!**


	34. Chapter 34

**A/N: James and Lily are finally back together. Finally. I don't think I could have written another argument - my frustrated cries for peace would have stopped me. Anyway, here's this week's chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 34: Sport and Stress**

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The Quidditch final (Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff) had just begun and Lily watched the players zoom about the pitch whilst holding a flag depicting her House's emblem. James had been in high spirits all morning, picking her up and twirling her about whilst singing a song by the Hobgoblins, and had been quite the contrast with the rest of his team, who had all eaten their breakfast in silence, nerves filling their systems. Marlene had rather looked like she had been chewing carpet and Lily had spoken words of comfort to her all throughout breakfast, so she had managed to eat no food herself. Because of this, she was now incredibly hungry as she watched Sirius and Marlene hit two Bludgers at the Quaffle so that the poor Hufflepuff chaser, who had reached for it, closed their arms over empty space.

Sirius kissed his girlfriend extravagantly on the lips and the flew in pursuit of one of the Bludgers which had now chosen a path towards the three Gryffindor Chasers, who had collected the Quaffle and were speeding towards the Hufflepuff goal posts. Kingsley scored, and all the red clad supporters went wild, all except Lily, whose stomach had rumbled uncomfortably. She waved her flag, sensing James' eyes upon her even from afar, smiling slightly in his direction despite knowing he couldn't see that much detail.

The Gryffindor Chasers swooped overhead, tailing their Hufflepuff counterparts, who had the Quaffle, very closely. Lily marvelled at the way James still managed to wink at her whilst rocketing along on a broomstick; she watched him, slightly transfixed, as he suddenly dropped and snatched the Quaffle out of the clutches of the same Hufflepuff who had previously had it whacked out of their reach. His red robes billowed in wind created by the speed of his flying as he spun on the spot and pelted back towards the Hufflepuff end of the pitch. He scored.

James did a loop the loop in the air and Lily rolled her eyes as most of the girls in her section of the stands giggled and clapped.

The match progressed without particular excitement with both Gryffindor and Hufflepuff reaching an equal score by the first hour and by the second hour Gryffindor was only 20 points ahead once again; by this point Lily was left contemplating the breakfast she might have had, had Marlene not been so nervous that morning. She began to put together the next Agony Aunt article and hummed to herself, blocking out any sounds from around her.

She did not hear the shouts of delight from the crowd as both Seekers pelted in pursuit of the Snitch nor did she hear their groans of disappointment when the winged ball evaded the clutches of both players; she missed the frustrated kick of Katie Richards, the Gryffindor Seeker, and her spinning her broom away with impatience; she and Katie alike did not see the Bludger tearing through the air, straight at the young Seeker's head.

Lily heard the crunch that echoed through the entire stadium and heard the panicked cries that followed. She looked up to see James falling to the floor, blood spilling everywhere. Evidently, he had thrown himself in the way of the Bludger to protect Katie. Without thinking, she sent a levitating Charm at him to slow his descent and began hurrying down the staircase of the stands, taking the stairs two at a time.

The shrill blow of Madame Hooch's whistle sounded in order to call a temporary stop to the match, an unnecessary feat for all the other players had halted, horror-struck, expect for Marlene and Sirius, who were racing down to try and catch James before he hit the ground. Remus and Peter sprinted after Lily and reached James just as the Head girl conjured a giant mattress for him to land on.

'SOMEONE GET MADAME POMFREY!' Lily shouted, her voice cracking slightly as she looked at her boyfriend with great dread. The white mattress she had conjured had begun to turn a dark, evil scarlet with his blood and she knelt down beside him, stroking his hair and holding his hand, trying to hide the fear in her voice. 'It'll be alright…' she murmured and watched, with slight relief, as Marlene zoomed towards the castle on her broom to get help. James was drifted in and out of consciousness while Lily attempted to slow down the bleeding from his shoulder and arm with the few spells her terrified brain could present to her.

Sirius, Remus, Peter and Madame Hooch were all crowded around the mattress, all unsure of what to do. Their faces were all white with fear but Lily did not spare them a glance, her frightened face having eyes for only James.

Footsteps marked the return of Marlene with Madame Pomfrey and the Hogwarts Matron shooed them all away while she dealt with the invalid. First, she cleaned the mattress and then she set about stopping James bleeding before conjuring a stretcher and levitating him onto it. Lily watched them walk back up to the castle, standing frozen on the pitch until Remus and Peter tugged her back to the entrance of the stands. She didn't even notice the match resume nor did she notice the two boys bring her back to her seat; Lily simply stared in the direction James had been taken.

10 minutes later and Katie had caught the Snitch. But Gryffindor's victory was half-hearted with their Captain absent and they settled for hugging one another out of comfort rather than for celebration. The Cup was passed their way but they shrugged it off, thoughts still on their injured and absent team player. Marlene led their way back up to the castle and the teams and crowd followed, everyone respectfully quiet, keeping their voices low in conversation.

Lily followed at a distance but once in the castle she began to run to the Hospital Wing, nearly bumping into Professor McGonagall as she did so. However, the deputy Headmistress did not reprimand her for running inside, rather she shot her a look of understanding and waved Lily on her way. She ran so fast that when she reached her destination she had to stop for a minute to regain breath. But then she pushed the Hospital Wing doors open and was immediately met by Madame Pomfrey.

'Miss Evans, Mr Potter really shouldn't be having visitors yet.' she said sternly yet her eyes were kind.

'Please, Madame Pomfrey… I promise I won't disturb him…' The Matron deliberated for a moment.

'Oh, alright then,' she agreed with a sigh, 'but you'll have to clean his arm for me.'

'That's fine! That's fine.' Lily reassured her and rushed over to the only occupied bed. James seemed to be asleep with his arm and shoulder in a sling. Seating herself on his bed, she removed this and began to dab at his injury with a sponge soaked in a disinfecting potion, brought to her by Madame Pomfrey. 'Oh, James,' she whispered to her boyfriend's sleeping from, 'why did you do that?' She sniffed as a tear rolled down her cheek. 'You're such an idiot,' Lily murmured softly, a hollow laugh escaping her lips, 'you know that?'

Another tear fell down her face and it was as if this particular tear had heralded to all the others that the coast was clear for seconds later and tears began to cascade down her face. They ran in great waterfalls and dripped incessantly from her chin to the sponge she was dabbing on his arm. She attempted to compose herself with another sniff but this did nothing to alter that amount of liquid leaving her eyes.

'What's with the waterworks?' James asked quietly, apparently having woken up, and he brought his free hand up to Lily's face, tilting in so that she looked directly at him. He smiled at her and Lily let out a rather wet and teary laugh before beginning to cry silently again. 'Hey, hey, hey!' James said, brushing away some of her tears with his thumb. 'It's alright – there's no permanent damage.'

'I know that, I just… never mind…' Lily shook herself slightly and attempted to smile back at James.

'You can tell me.'

'I-well, it's just when you were lying there on the pitch I couldn't do anything. My mind went blank and there you were bleeding with a smashed arm and shoulder.' Lily sniffed, her emerald eyes still sparkling with tears. 'I felt so useless and I was so scared that Madame Pomfrey wouldn't come a-and it would be my fault that you…'

'It's okay…' James said caringly as a rather fat tear rolled down Lily's face. 'I don't care if you can't do anything when I'm injured – that's not why I keep you around.' She laughed in spite of herself.

'I suppose that's something I'll learn in Healer training: keeping my head under pressure.'

'I bet you will.' James stroked his thumb across her cheek and she leaned on his hand, closing her eyes.

'Why did you do it?' she asked with slight exasperation.

'Do what?'

'Throw yourself in front of that Bludger.' She reopened her eyes.

'We could afford to lose a Chaser but we couldn't afford to lose the Seeker if we wanted to win.'

'You...' Lily shook her head in despair and James chuckled lightly.

'Why don't we change the subject?'

'Good idea. You can choose a new one.' Lily responded, smiling a little and resumed cleaning his injury.

'Sure.' James winced slightly as the sponge with disinfectant made contact with his skin. 'Can I ask some questions about your "trade secrets"?'

'Of course you can.' Lily replied, chuckling. 'I take it you're making the most of being a poor invalid.'

'Obviously.' he grinned. 'Right! First question: how d'you know about the Marauder's Map?'

'Straight in with the big questions.' Lily observed and grinned back at him. 'The answer isn't that exciting actually – when you first finished the Map you lot would leave it lying around a lot. Marlene and I found it one day when it hadn't been cleared so we spied on you to find out where you usually kept it and then found out that way how you cleared and opened it.'

'I'm impressed.'

'I think that came down to the suspicion we had of all things Marauder in 5th year.' Lily mused with a reminiscent smile.

'Next question! Have you ever borrowed the Map?'

'Yes.' Lily said without a second's deliberation. 'I suppose you want to know when and where as well?' James nodded. 'Well, I think the first time Marlene and I borrowed it was to steal Marlene's Fanged Frisbee back from Filch. I caused a diversion by exploding a suit of armour underneath Filch's office and he came running out, freeing poor Stewart Andrews from a detention he would've had cleaning the dungeons and giving Marlene time to search his drawer of confiscated items.'

'Lily, marry me.' James said, and Lily laughed slightly.

'We'll see if you still want to ask that when you haven't ingested a pint of blood replenishing potion.' she told him cheerfully. 'Got another question?'

'Have you borrowed the Map since that time?'

'Oh, yeah. Marlene and I have used it every year since you made it when we're selling Wit-Sharpening potions.' James grinned again.

'Any other times?'

'We also used it when we ran an underground duelling club in the Room of Requirement in 6th year. We'd give prizes for the most creative duels – oh, that was a lot of fun.' Lily smiled. 'Remus and I were the judges and Marlene the referee.'

'Remus knew about that? How come I didn't?' James asked, slightly indignantly.

'Well, we decided that if all four Marauders knew about the club and came, your fan club would arrive as well and overrun things. Remus agreed and promised he wouldn't tell you, Sirius or Peter. We only ran it until Christmas anyway because Edward told Professor McGonagall, so we couldn't carry on without her finding us.'

'You, Lily Evans, are something else.' James watched her in slight awe and Lily rolled her eyes. 'What prizes did you have?'

'Usually something Honeydukes but sometimes we added some money into the mix.'

'You added money?'

'Not a lot,' Lily said with a shrug, 'but that coupled with some sweets or chocolate is very popular. It was really inspiring watching those duels – some people did the most incredible things with the simplest of spells.' Lily smiled a beautiful smile and sighed slightly. 'I was always happy for younger students to come because those duels showed that you don't need to know complex magic to be powerful. I think it helped quite a few of them feel more confident.'

'Yeah…' James replied, watching Lily's face slightly dazedly due to her endearing expression.

'I think my favourites were a pair of 7th years. Everyone switched who they duelled with each time and we made sure pairs were evenly matched but these two were beyond any level really when they duelled each other. They seemed to dance with each other as they duelled, and they didn't use words at all; everything was done through seamless movements.' Lily closed her eyes for a moment. 'You could have put it to music it was so beautiful. It was just mesmerising to watch.' She looked at James with bright eyes. 'I learnt a lot from watching them duel... I heard they were killed a few days after Valentine's Day in a death eater attack.'

There was silence for a moment.

'Anyway,' Lily said cheerily enough but her eyes looked slightly watery, 'did you have another question?'

'I-oh, yes!' James started a little. 'How d'you find out I was an Animagus?'

'It was when you, Sirius, Remus and Peter started using your nicknames with each other. I knew why you called Remus Moony so that made it easier. Remus said something to me about you three wanting to find a way to help him during the full moon and I thought about it; I came up with only two options: either you had to invent a potion to make him tamer in werewolf form or you had to become Animagi to be safe around him when he transformed – there were some other solutions but you Marauders, as Marlene would say, never do anything half-arsed.'

'True.' James agreed with a snort.

'Logically, I decided it was more likely you would attempt to become Animagi; you and Sirius are both Outstanding achievers in Transfiguration and Peter is alright as well but with Potions, Sirius is the most talented and Peter isn't very good so it made more sense that you would have gone with the option in the field you're all stronger in. Also, you have a better relationship with Professor McGonagall than Professor Slughorn so you'd be more likely to seek Professor McGonagall's help if something went wrong and she'd be more helpful with things to do with Animagi.'

'You put a lot of thought into that.' James observed with a smirk and Lily laughed.

'I then put two and two together with your nicknames and worked out what you each transform into. Then, I asked Remus if I was right when we were on Prefect Duty together – he eventually admitted it.' Lily took a deep breath, having spoken for quite some time. 'Anymore questions, or am I free from interrogation?'

'Just one more.' James said. 'Remember when we went to speak to that portrait – Phineas Nigellus? – how d'you know to ask him about the students who were planning to meet Voldemort?'

'I… I'm not sure I should answer that…' Lily considered him. 'James, promise me you won't tell anyone.'

'I promise.'

'Professor McGonagall told me.' Lily admitted.

'Wait, McGonagall knew about the death eaters?'

'No, she just gave me an idea. Remember we overheard Severus speaking to someone when we were behind those bins in Hogsmeade?'

'Yeah…'

'Well, on an unrelated subject she mentioned the portraits witness most things in the school so I asked a painting of some nuns who would tell me the truth and not some rumours; they directed me to Phineas Nigellus' painting in the dungeons. He wasn't there at first and I had to wait about ten minutes for him to arrive.'

'He's a git.'

'Perhaps,' Lily smiled softly, 'but he was also very helpful. He's related to Sirius – did you know that?'

'I did actually. You can't really see it though – except the hair colour.' James looked out of the window for a moment and then back at Lily. He opened his mouth to say something but closed it again as Madame Pomfrey appeared.

'Ah, good,' she said, 'you're awake and, Miss Evans, I see you've managed to clean his injury.' She nodded approvingly. 'Right, Potter, you need to eat something and then it's straight back to sleep. Perhaps, Miss Evans you can help him seeing as he's only one handed.'

'O-of course.' Lily said, hastily accepting the soup pushed into her hands. Madame Pomfrey patted her on the shoulder and left once more. 'Open up.' she said, laughing slightly and moving a spoonful of soup to James' mouth. He opened his mouth obediently and then swallowed a mouthful of pleasantly hot soup. 'Any good?' James nodded, and Lily laughed again, giving him another spoonful of soup.

An hour later and Madame Pomfrey came over to see the two, fast asleep, Lily curled up by James' chest as he rested against her. The Matron smiled to herself and carefully removed the soup bowl from Lily's grasp, leaving the them to sleep peacefully.

* * *

The NEWTs arrived much faster than was welcoming and Lily sat down with Marlene at the Gryffindor table on the first day of their exams looking slightly green. She attempted to eat some shredded wheat to improve her mood but failed, a feat greatly worsened by the fact Marlene was incessantly swearing beside her. The Marauders sat further along the table letting off their anxiety with a pile of Dr Filibuster's Wet Start, No Heat Fireworks and a glass of water. The bright colours firing everywhere attracted the attention of most of the students and the teachers did nothing to stop them, sensing that this might be what the 5th and 7th years needed before their tests.

Breakfast eventually ended and the 5th and 7th students waited nervously in the Entrance Hall for their summons into the exam. Lily mumbled incantations to herself over and over again, twisting her hair in her hand with nerves. Marlene stood beside her, muttering about timings for the exam, and attempted to ignore Sirius, who was kissing her neck from behind to 'soothe' her. James was listening to Remus go over his notes and Peter was playing with his quill, his palms sweating out of apprehension.

'You may enter.' Professor McGonagall announced, opening the double doors. 'Please sit in the seat written on your exam timetable.'

There was the sound of shuffling as the students moved to find their allocated seat. Lily was near the front, her surname being Evans after all, and once she had located her seat, she sat down, taking deep breaths. James strutted confidently to his seat and sprawled across it, lounging comfortably, waiting for the exam to begin.

'Please write your name on your exam paper.' Professor McGonagall instructed, her eyes beady and sharp. 'And to be clear for those of us who find it amusing to write one another's instead, your name is the one on the piece of extra parchment on your desk.' There was a small amount of sniggering about the Hall. 'That is enough. You may all congratulate one another on your hilarious humour when you leave this Hall after the exam is finished.' She paused, and her eyes flashed. 'For those of us who seem to have missed the chalkboards stating the different exams occurring in here, we are now in exam conditions. That means communication is forbidden and will be deemed as cheating. Anyone found cheating will have their paper destroyed and be disqualified. As this next hour and 30 minutes of exam will give you all a qualification should you persevere accordingly, I would advise you do not cheat. A grade is always better than no grade at all – bare that in mind.'

'Yes,' Professor Flitwick squeaked, moving over to the large hourglass stood on a table right at the front of the Great Hall, 'very well said. Now the best of luck to you all…' he turned the hourglass over, 'you may begin.'

 **Please Review :)**


	35. Chapter 35

**A/N: Welcome back! I quite liked last chapter - just a chance for Lily to give us more of her and Marlene's anecdotes. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter just as much - or maybe even more so - and without further ado... Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 35: The Last Goodbye**

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The day after the last NEWT exam, Lily awoke feeling incredibly light and elated. Judging by the pinkish light landing on her pillow through the gap in her hangings, it was early but her insides were buzzing with far too much excitement and adrenaline to allow her to re-enter the world of sleep. Thus, she climbed out of bed, collecting her washbag and school uniform, which she would be wearing for the last time, and headed out of her dormitory, careful not to wake any of her roommates. Nigel mewed tiredly and hopped up onto her bed, stretching out luxuriously. Lily chuckled quietly and left for the Prefects' Bathroom, humming while she enthusiastically walked through the corridors of Hogwarts. She reached the gilded door and, leaning close to it, murmured the password _Efflorescence_ ; the door obliged, opening wide and she stepped into the threshold. For what she knew would be the final time, Lily took in the beautiful white marble room, its jewel incrusted taps, the fluffy towels and the golden glow cast by the opulent chandelier. Lily sighed slightly and then went over to the towels, collected one and then headed into one of the cubicles. Setting down her things, Lily undressed and stepped under the shower, allowing the hot water to run through her hair.

She was not someone who spent longer than necessary showering and as soon as she was finished, Lily turned off the shower and dried herself. The shower room and the little cloakroom were quite stuffy after her shower so she opened the door and stepped into the main Bathroom, wrapped in a fluffy white towel, in order to air herself as much as the cubicle.

James was walking towards another cubicle but stopped when he noticed her, smirking slightly and roving his eyes over her in an exaggerated fashion.

'Looking good, Evans,' he said and winked at her.

'You're not too bad yourself, Potter.' Lily responded with a coy smile.

'Wait for me?'

'Of course.' Lily waved at him and returned to her cubicle, closing the door behind her. She dried her hair with a flick of her wand and dressed. Then, she set about doing her makeup and plaiting her hair so that it looked presentable. In the curse of society's expectations of male and female appearances, James finished getting showered and ready in the time Lily took to do her hair and makeup. They left the Bathroom together, hand in hand, and deposited their things in their respective dormitories before heading to breakfast.

'Have you packed everything yet?' Lily asked as they made their way out of the common room, James helping Lily through the portrait hole because of the gentleman he was.

'Course I have!' James grinned at her. 'I am Head boy for a reason.'

'Sure, sure.' Lily leaned into him and he looped an arm around her. 'Where were you last night? Marlene and I went looking for you and Sirius but we couldn't find you.'

'We were busy doing stuff.'

'And did this stuff involve rule breaking?'

'Lily!' James gasped, pretending to be offended. 'How could you even suggest that I, James Potter, have ever even thought of breaking a school rule?'

'Yes, how could I?' Lily remarked dryly and smiled cheekily at her boyfriend.

'Lily, you should know that when you smile like that the only thing I want to do is snog you senseless.' James informed her, and Lily stared at him.

'Really?' she asked, shocked.

'Really.'

'Oh.' Lily looked slightly unsure of how to process this news.

'I'm sorry?' James said uncertainly.

'I suppose I wouldn't mind…' Lily told him slowly, a small smirk forming on her face.

'Wouldn't mind what?'

'If you snogged me senseless.' Lily said and James grinned. The two then headed into the nearest deserted classroom and locked the door behind them.

When the they reappeared in the corridor 20 minutes later, they were slightly sweaty with swollen lips. But they both smiled widely, and Lily flattened her hair a little self-consciously before they entered the Great Hall.

'You look great, don't worry.' James reassured her and winked at her. They made their way over to their friends and sat down. Marlene smirked at Lily with a knowing expression while Sirius and Peter thumped James on the back, Remus smiling smugly in Lily's direction. She grinned and helped herself to a huge portion of shredded wheat.

After finishing her breakfast, Lily excused herself from her friends and slipped quietly from the Great Hall, making her way towards the library; she wanted a final walk about the bookshelves of Hogwarts before she would leave the castle forever. The corridors were devoid of students, who were all enjoying the sunshine outside, but Lily basked in the isolation, twirling as she walked, humming to herself. A smile formed on her lips and her eyes sparkled in the sunlight that poured through the mullioned windows while her deep red hair seemed to glow like the embers of a fire.

But then a dark-haired male entered the corridor and she stopped instantly. The two walked purposefully past one another, both pretending not to be fazed by the other. However, as Lily reached the end of the corridor, she turned and called out to her fellow occupant of the hallway.

'Regulus!' she cried, and he spun around sharply, almost as though he had been waiting for her to speak. 'R-Regulus…'

'What?' he responded coolly but retraced his steps nonetheless.

'I just – I just wanted to say that I forgive you and that I would love to be friends before I leave here today.' Lily eyed him cautiously and searched his haughty, casually elegant face nervously for an indication as to his emotions. She held out her hand firmly and waited.

He shook it.

Then, before he could move away, she pulled him into a tight hug. Regulus' entire body froze in shock and fear of this unknown interaction that contained genuine affection.

'G-good luck…' she said into him and he felt something damp on his shirt; evidently Lily was crying ever so slightly. 'And remember, Regulus, that there's always a way out if you look hard enough even – even if that means getting over your stupid pride.' She chuckled a little and he felt the vibrations of her warm laugh ring throughout him.

Lily let go and stepped back from him, wiping a tear from her cheek as she beamed at him; Regulus felt suddenly empty and he stood before her with his arms still slightly outstretched, a blank look about his features.

'Well, I'm sure we'll meet again at some point…' Lily words had seemed less ominous in her head but now the reality of them hung heavily in the air, the two well aware of the only circumstances in which they would see each other again. 'Take care, will you?'

She squeezed his shoulder and then began to make her way once more along the corridor, a hum escaping her lips. Her walk soon became a kind of glide as she waltzed down the rest of the hallway, humming peaceably as she did so.

'Hey, Mu-Evans!' Regulus shouted after her, causing her to jump with surprise and halt her movement.

'What is it?' she asked softly, turning to face him once more.

'I-I – oh, fuck – I wish – I wish…' A pink tinge appeared on his cool cheeks while he stumbled over his words.

'You wish what?' Lily's voice was curious yet concerned and it was plain in her eyes she suspected him of having a severe ailment.

'I-I wish I wasn't going to disappoint you!' he burst out.

What Lily had been expecting, she wasn't sure but Regulus' words had surprised her. She stared at him for a moment, looking at him with an unnameable emotion, frowning a little.

'You didn't call me Mudblood so I that's already a start.' she told him quietly, and, with a small smile, she left him, walking once again to the library for a final farewell to the books of Hogwarts.

* * *

An hour later and Lily walked into the courtyard where students were milling, waiting for the coaches to take them to the station. She quickly found her friends, who were loitering in an alcove, and rushed up to them. They all grinned at her and James slunk is arm around her waist, hugging her into him. She snuggled against him and then gestured to the alcove.

'Why aren't we standing in the sun?' Lily asked, watching the rest of the school stand in the pleasant glow of the summer sun.

'Apparently, my fucking skin needs protection.' Marlene responded, throwing a grumpy look towards Sirius, who planted a noisy kiss on her nose. The Marauders smirked at one another and Lily exchanged a look with Marlene whilst Emmeline and Flora giggled; the two girls shook their heads slightly and together looked out across the heads of their fellow students at the grounds visible through the stone archways. There was a loud sniff from Marlene and Lily glanced in her direction noticing two fat tears rolling down her cheeks. She reached out a hand and squeezed Marlene's. 'I'm not fucking crying!'

'Of course.' Lily agreed and smiled softly at her.

'Ready, Lads?' James asked suddenly and let go of Lily. All four boys smartly rolled up their sleeves and swished their wands in identical fashion.

At once balloon after balloon pelted down from the sky, caking the students bellow in a vividly violet paint. There were great shrieks from all around the courtyard and people began to run for cover. However, due to the multitude of students, most bumped into one another and then discovered that the paint was also an adhesive, so they were stuck to random student (and in some cases to the floor).

But the Marauders weren't finished.

The double doors into the castle began to swing violently backwards and forwards, creating a blustering wind that swept through the mass of students, blowing what looked like glitter with it. All at once, the wind and glitter soared upwards and made an intricate firework display in the sky, evoking many gasps and sighs of delight. Every colour in the rainbow seemed to be represented and Lily looked at James, her eyes bright, and kissed him happily, murmuring into his lips that he was the most brilliant wizard she had ever met. He laughed and swooped her up into his arms and spun her round, kissing her lips fiercely and beaming as she chuckled into him.

The Hogwarts Express was devoid of many students, most were busy detaching themselves from their peers, and yet James was in a terrible rush to find exactly the right compartment. Lily, Marlene, Sirius, Remus, Peter, Emmeline and Flora followed him patiently but shook their heads slightly at his obvious harried manner. When he reached the specific compartment he had been searching for, James ushered everyone inside and then levitated everyone's trunks into the racks, clearly nervous. And yet once everyone was inside and sat down, nothing worrying occurred, unless Sirius blowing a raspberry on Marlene's neck could be counted; his girlfriend did begin whacking him with her handbag but her hits were light and joking.

Lily smiled at James and put her hand in his, rubbing circles on the back of his hand with her thumb. He was slightly reassured but did not return the smile.

'I'm sure Dumbledore'll let you come for visits.' Lily said soothingly.

'Hm.' James responded, slightly distracted by his own thoughts.

'Evans, please tell your best mate to stop beating me.' Sirius said, pretending to cower away from Marlene.

'Marls.' Lily said with falsely stern voice.

'But, Miss,' Marlene whined as though she was talking to a teacher, 'he started it!'

The journey wore on laughter and a rather intense game of Exploding Snap. They took it in turns to tell their favourite memory of Hogwarts and were all in tears of laughter when Marlene said she would miss the broom cupboards. Emmeline and Flora left after a while to go see their own friends and the remaining 6 began playing another round of Snap. When the lunch trolley arrived, all of them bought a feast's worth of food and they all tucked in heartily, laughing the hours away until they would reach Kings Cross.

Lily let Nigel out of his cage and the ginger cat curled up in her lap, eyeing the rest of the compartment imperiously. Marlene and Lily began to comprise a shopping list of the food they would need to buy on the day they moved out of their parents' houses. Then they moved onto furniture and Sirius hid behind his girlfriend's back, claiming she was too responsible. Marlene had simply snorted and told him to grow up before turning her attention back to Lily. The two girls copied down flat and house viewing dates into their diaries, comparing them to each other in order to find an ideal moving week once they had decided on a property.

The countryside whizzed past the window, peering into the compartment and casting a faintly green light about the inside of the train. The woods were still rugged indicating they still had a while before they reached London, but the fields were gradually neatening with an increasing number of farmhouses. The early summer sun was warm, even through the window, and Lily smiled as the rays hit her when a cloud, which had been covering the sun, moved. She closed her eyes momentarily and allowed the pleasant warm to wash over her, making the most of this heat before a less comfortable, sticky heat would reach Britain in later weeks.

However, the rural areas did not last forever and, just as the sun disappeared back behind a cloud, the train arrived on platform 9 and ¾. There was a large amount of shaking hands, hugging and plans to meet up as the train jolted to a halt. One by one, they left the compartment and Lily's eyes saddened slightly as she realised she would never again take this train. She looked out of the window at the bulletin board opposite which showed the weather outside the station. It had started to rain.

'Lily?' James had remained in the compartment with her.

'It's raining.' Lily said, a small chuckle sounding out of her mouth. 'I suppose that's our welcome home.'

'D'you know what compartment this is?' James asked, his voice slightly strange.

'I don't think so…' Lily replied, still watching the board.

'We met for the very first time in this very compartment.' James informed her proudly and Lily turned around to face him, her face a mixture of elation and surprise.

'Really?' she said excitedly. 'Wow… So much has changed since then…'

'Yeah…'

'We didn't really make the best impressions on each other, did we?' Lily smiled reminiscently. 'I remember thinking you were so rude and horrible when I left with Severus.' James snorted.

'And I remember thinking you were pretty but you were friends with Snape.'

'Not exactly fascinating our first impressions, are they?'

'Not really, no.' Lily turned back to the window and admired the way the rain fell so realistically down the bulletin board it almost seemed real and not enchanted. She tilted her head slightly and watched more rain droplets fall in routine fashion. There was a cough from behind her. James was still in the compartment. She turned around again and gasped.

He was down on one knee… holding a black box.

'J-James…' Lily looked slightly scared, but James took a deep breath, ready to say the speech he had prepared the night before.

'Lily Evans, I have liked you since the moment I first laid eyes on you and been in love with you since 5th year when you told me I was an arrogant, bullying toerag.' Lily blushed. 'There isn't a day that goes by where I don't think about you and I think you're the most amazing, kind, beautiful woman in the world. I remember what my parents said when I told them I loved you – they told me to marry you because they knew you would make me happy. Lily, there isn't anyone on this planet who came make me feel the way you do and I want to spend the rest of my life spoiling you and waking up to see you next to me. I want to grow old with you and be there for you. So – so I'm asking you this question: will you marry me?'

Lily was still incredibly shocked, so surprised in fact that it took her four attempts to actually form a word. She stared at James and then at the box and then at James again.

'Yes.' she answered softly and glanced back at the bulletin board, laughing slightly as she saw it was still raining. 'I think we're cursed with rain.' she said to him as he pulled her into a hug after sliding a silver ring with small emeralds in it onto her finger.

'You think so?'

'Yup.' Lily responded, beaming up at him as they hauled their luggage off the train. 'I predict a downpour during our wedding.' James did an overexaggerated groan as they stepped onto the platform but then swept Lily up into his arms, swirling her around and kissing her on the lips until Mr and Mrs Evans walked over.

'So, you must be James Potter,' Mr Evans said sternly, acting as if he and James had never met, holding out his hand, 'our Lily's boyfriend.'

'Yes, sir.' James responded, playing along, shaking Mr Evans' hand. Mrs Evans did not look particularly impressed by her husband's antics and hugged both Lily and James tightly. Then she released them and elbowed Mr Evans.

'I see…' He sent a mock glower in James' direction and then thumped him on the back. 'Welcome to the family, son.'

 **Please Review :)**

 **And that brings us to the end of The Cat Chronicles. Thank you so much for reading this story! Your reviews have always been helpful and lovely so thank you for those as well!**

 **Well, I'll see you in whatever story I write next!**


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